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Dwelling On What-Might-Have-Beens

Sitting at my PC, I'm reading an online message from a voice from the past.  From the tone of the message, that old and treasured friend is thinking of the past and all his 'what-might-have-beens'.  He is a bit sad and a bit wistful.  But I'm telling him not to look back...

When I look at my students, I marvel at their 'empty' Books of Life ... they are just at the beginning of a potentially wonderful life.  It is just up to them what they make of it.  As for me, my approach to life has always been 'No Regrets But Do No Harm.'  So far that approach has worked relatively well for me.  But dare I say that I have no regrets?  Well, maybe one or two.

My friend (of the same age) seems to be wishing for some things to be redone.  But I am not too sure if that is a good idea.  Well, he can't change the past.  And when we have let enough time pass, we forget why we made certain decisions.  He made decisions a long time ago that he felt was right, so why is he wishing otherwise now?

I do not believe in looking back to make wishes.  We look back to reflect and to help us make better decisions for the future.  If we think of our past and we wish for different paths, we risk paralysing our present and wrecking our future.  We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world.  If we feel pain, we deal with the pain and we move on.  No one is more 'special' than another and no one deserves more than another.

Is life unfair?  Not really. 

I think life is a combination of our destiny and our attitudes.  It is like playing a game of cards.  We get a hand of cards, then we decide what to do with the cards we get.  What will make the difference will be prayer and a positive attitude.  Well, that's what I believe, anyway.

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