No regrets

My friend and her husband were planning for retirement; organising an overseas trip, dreaming about the places they’d go and the things they wanted to see. It couldn’t come fast enough. Then without warning her husband had a fatal heart attack.
 
I remember sitting with her as she grieved and tried to come to terms with her shattered dreams and the loss of the man she loved beyond reason. She talked about her regrets and one of them was a beautiful nightee and negligee that her husband had given her, which she’d put away for that special trip. She wept as she realised he would never see her wear it and how she wished she hadn’t saved it for later.
 
Maybe we are all a little bit like that, planning for the future, thinking about what’s ahead rather than living as if this were the last day of our life. There’s such a temptation to save things for a special occasion but what if we determined to make each day memorable, each day a special occasion.

• Use the best china, burn the candles, use the nice sheets. Don’t save them for a that special time ahead; today is special

• Love and appreciate your parents.  We are often so busy growing up, we forget they are also growing old

• ‘Waste’ more time with your children. Play with them, listen to them, enjoy them; make their childhood memorable and fun.  Create wonderful memories for all of you. Teach them to live in the here and now

• Stubbornly refuse to hold a grudge or live with regrets; they rob you of the freedom today offers

• Make a point of encouraging, appreciating or surprising someone everyday; grab this moment to write a note, make a phone call or visit; make someone’s day a little brighter

• Make time for yourself; time to relax, to read and reflect or be creative. Time to develop nourishing relationships. Take a bubble bath or have a massage, exercise with a friend or learn something new, whatever refreshes you and helps you be more fully alive

• Connect with nature; take time to enjoy the blue of the sky, the song of the birds and the calming influence of being surrounded by nature; the beach, the bush, the park  … the wind in your hair and the sun or rain on your skin!

• Be generous with your time, your talents and your belongings. Hold all you have lightly and share willingly; be hospitable in every sense of the word

• Live every day with gratitude

• Sort out misunderstandings, forgive before it’s too late

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• Embrace and enjoy what you have, life is too short to waste time longing for what you don’t have. Today is special.

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