On February 17th 2013, at 6:13 pm, I wrote this:
Well, here I am… back in Colorado. After another “transition” ~ now in my 29th year. Tonight, I write with a heavy heart because I have tried to do what I think is best, and I have stayed true to honoring my feelings, communicating them to others, and still, I feel like a failure. To cheer myself up I am going to share these 5 beautiful pieces of advice written by those who were on their death bed, expressing their biggest regrets in life:
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
- I wish I had let myself be happier
I was encouraged to read these regrets because they made me grateful for the awareness of what IS really important in life. And also, for the realization that, at least I have practiced most of these things up until now. Perhaps they can serve as a reminder for you too, that the most important things are not usually the things we think they are. It takes age, wisdom, experience, and hindsight to recognize and appreciate the things that are.