Those of you who have read some of my previous post on here will probably think I am contradicting myself with this one. That is the farthest thing from the truth. What I am about to say and talk about is how Life Is Short. Yes, I have said Life Is Long, and it is, but this post goes hand in hand with that one. There is time to fix your mistakes, time for a second chance, time to make amends, time to start fresh, time to get it right. BUT...............................
What if you were told you had 3 weeks to live? What would you do different? Of all thing things listed in the above paragraph, what would you find the time for? Would you be a better friend, husband/wife, parent, child, brother or sister? Would you say the kind words that you think that special person already knows, but feel there is no pressing reason to say them? Would you sit down and watch your favorite TV show or go skydiving instead?
I have seen both sides of this. I have seen people with heavy burdens because they missed out on the chance to say or do what they really felt deep down in their heart. I have also been fortunate enough to say words that didn't really need to be said, and experienced the happiness it created to say them and to have them heard. There are also things I should have said in the past that I didn't, but if I am fortunate enough I hope to have the opportunity to say them in the future.
We all make mistakes, and there is hopefully time and opportunity to fix those mistakes. What we need to focus on is avoiding those mistakes from the beginning. Saying "I'm Sorry" is never a easy thing, personally I would rather get it right in the first place, but mistakes are how you learn, and its how most people start off. They say "You can't take it with you when you go", but you also cant take it back once that person is gone.
My dad was taken from us suddenly 11 months ago. I feel thankful that there was no need to say anything that was left unsaid. Frank, who was my second father, was diagnosed with cancer that same week. I also feel thankful that even though I felt there was nothing that needed to be said between us, I still took the time to say it anyway.
Life happens fast, it really is quick in the eternal scheme of things. If you don't take advantage of it, it will pass you by. If you don't appreciate that fact that Life is Long enough to have second chances, you will continue to make the same mistakes. Don't just embrace change, search out the positive aspects of it. Complacency is the easy road, but a road that takes you only to places that you have already been. Stubbornness, To Much Pride, and Lack Of Self-Contemplation will take you to the same places. There is to much of life out there to not go exploring and take some chances.
Life is to short. To short to hold a grudge or hold on to the past. Most of us know some old whiner who holds on to wrongs done to him, whether they be legitimate or imagined. He suffers constantly, focusing and complaining about the past till no one wants to be around him, or hear his sob story. Letting go of the past is something I have struggled with. I have let things fester and rot inside my thoughts till something simple would grow to titanic proportions. Since then I have learned that it is better to leave the past in the past.
When we are younger, we always think our life will be long. We think we are immortal, but we don't always think about the second chances we still have. We never know when those second chances will run out. Life isn't always that generous. Sometimes three weeks is really only 6 days.
What if you were told you had 3 weeks to live? What would you do different? Why haven't you been living your life that way already? Life Is Still Long enough to change that!
To a man who lived every day, and always spoke his mind!
Frank J. Nader, Jr
August 14, 1939 - March 22, 2006
RIP
