Will you have dying regrets?
Let’s hope not. But if you did you would be looking back at your life wishing you had done something differently or not done something you did. Sam and I mention this because of an article brought to our attention on Facebook by our good friend Shelly Parsons.
The article titled Regrets of the Dying by Susie Steiner and appearing in The Guardian, a United Kingdom publication, says that the five top regrets of the dying are:
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
The list was compiled by Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who spent several years caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. Apparently these same regrets came up time and time again and Ms. Ware recorded them in a blog called Inspiration and Chai which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
There was no mention of people regretting that they hadn’t had more sex or hadn’t gone bungee jumping. I can easily understand no regrets about bungee jumping. But sex? Well, this is not supposed to be an “adult content” blog, so we won’t go there. Still . . .
I can honestly say I’ve done most everything I’ve wanted to do in my life and that I will die with few regrets. I do relate to number 4 though. I’ve had some really good friends that I have let go of because one of us moved out of town or changed jobs or whatever. A couple of friends I’ve lost have tried to reconnect with me too and I haven’t reciprocated and that is a big regret. I feel ashamed that I didn’t reconnect. It might be because growing up, my family moved every two or three years and I learned to let go of people. It was just too painful to try to hold on to them. But maybe that’s just an excuse. To have friends I need to work at being a friend, even if it means bridging the gap of time or miles.
Boy, Sam sure does like his buds at Top Dog Day Care where I take him two days a week. As soon as we turn into the parking lot he starts yelping and dancing around in my truck. When I open the door he is out of there like a shot and scratching at the front door of Top Dog. He particularly likes a dog named Duce. They start rubbing noses as soon as they see each other and Sam and Duce can often be seen sharing a cushion together when I go to pick Sam up. I think that’s pretty cool.
Fortunately, one of the advantages of growing older is that I have learned to forgive myself for my shortcomings. It all comes down to finding that “peace that passeth all understanding” so that by the time I have to go that I will not have many if any regrets. I believe that I will be embraced by God, when I die and the peace I find in his loving arms will be a great release from having regrets and beating myself up over them.
Two bags of poop on regrets. What good are they?
Let’s hope not. But if you did you would be looking back at your life wishing you had done something differently or not done something you did. Sam and I mention this because of an article brought to our attention on Facebook by our good friend Shelly Parsons.
The article titled Regrets of the Dying by Susie Steiner and appearing in The Guardian, a United Kingdom publication, says that the five top regrets of the dying are:
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
The list was compiled by Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who spent several years caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. Apparently these same regrets came up time and time again and Ms. Ware recorded them in a blog called Inspiration and Chai which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
There was no mention of people regretting that they hadn’t had more sex or hadn’t gone bungee jumping. I can easily understand no regrets about bungee jumping. But sex? Well, this is not supposed to be an “adult content” blog, so we won’t go there. Still . . .
I can honestly say I’ve done most everything I’ve wanted to do in my life and that I will die with few regrets. I do relate to number 4 though. I’ve had some really good friends that I have let go of because one of us moved out of town or changed jobs or whatever. A couple of friends I’ve lost have tried to reconnect with me too and I haven’t reciprocated and that is a big regret. I feel ashamed that I didn’t reconnect. It might be because growing up, my family moved every two or three years and I learned to let go of people. It was just too painful to try to hold on to them. But maybe that’s just an excuse. To have friends I need to work at being a friend, even if it means bridging the gap of time or miles.
Boy, Sam sure does like his buds at Top Dog Day Care where I take him two days a week. As soon as we turn into the parking lot he starts yelping and dancing around in my truck. When I open the door he is out of there like a shot and scratching at the front door of Top Dog. He particularly likes a dog named Duce. They start rubbing noses as soon as they see each other and Sam and Duce can often be seen sharing a cushion together when I go to pick Sam up. I think that’s pretty cool.
Fortunately, one of the advantages of growing older is that I have learned to forgive myself for my shortcomings. It all comes down to finding that “peace that passeth all understanding” so that by the time I have to go that I will not have many if any regrets. I believe that I will be embraced by God, when I die and the peace I find in his loving arms will be a great release from having regrets and beating myself up over them.
Two bags of poop on regrets. What good are they?
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