If you could go back and live your life over again what would you do differently? Regardless of your age or experiences, I think we all could easily fill a page with a list of such. Regret or hindsight is one of those uniquely human qualities, for better or for worse. What if you had the chance to follow a dream? Would you take the chance to live your life like a movie or would you let it slip away? I know it sounds cliché but it is what life is about.

Do you live your life as if you get one chance or do you go through your daily life as if the days are endless and should be treated as disposable. I don’t have my head in the clouds; I am talking about being conscious, being aware. Sure, everyone is awake as they go about daily existence but not everyone is aware. Stopping to smell the flowers is not just a saying, it is something literal too.

When we see beautiful flowers, Heather and I make an effort to physically stop and smell. Regardless if it is someone’s front yard or along a city street. That’s what they are there for and I would imagine the homeowner would be flattered that we are enjoying the fruits of their labour. Even if it looks silly to stoop down, tiptoe, or such…I just don’t care. I can be in a downright ****ty mood and stopping to lift a rose or cluster of blooming honeysuckle or bougainvillea to my nose changes my spirits immediately.

But this is all to say that what you do with your life is up to you. Suffering through your existence is one option, but not the one I choose. Reader’s Digest (March, 2006) has an article about Pessimist/Optimist people…and research backs up the claim that different people can go through the same problem and their view of it determines their happiness. Basically, it’s all a matter of mind. Mind over matter. Perception.

Again, it is cliché, but seeing the glass as half-full or half-empty is another literal concept. It may sound trite and petty but it influences the bigger picture. It is like a ripple in a pond. If you are negative at heart, it will flow throughout you. When something goes wrong is it the end of the world? Rarely. We live in a dramatic society. Television, movies, radio, internet, toys…it is all about drama and sensationalism. So we begin to emulate those things in our daily lives. Have you ever noticed how many people now have a “Survivor” or “Reality-TV” mentality…thinking everyone is out to get them, thinking everyone has it better, or whatever. It is a mentality and it can be changed. 

I watched my father wither and die full to the brim with regrets.  What he had done, what he hadn't done, what he had done half-assed, and all manner of things inbetween.  It was not a pleasant thing for him nor for me.  I will not follow that path.

As Jimmy Buffett would say "Livin' my life like a song..."