Living Without Regrets
In thinking about the post that I just did on the beautiful Jen Smith, one of the things that inspires me most about her is that she is choosing to liver her life withOUT regret. She has consistently found humor in life and laughs often. The finds happiness – Silver Linings – everywhere. Just the other day, I received a note from her telling me how “incredible” hospice is. Amazing.
Here are some ways that I try to live everyday without regret:
- Make my health and wellness a top priority. This isn’t always easy, but it is always at the forefront of my mind.
- Follow my own path – not the one that other people want me to follow. There is no longer any “should-ing” in my life.
- I am adventurous and try new things as often as I can, wherever I can. When there are opportunities to do things that I have never done, I have a tendency to say “YES!”
- Think about what I do have not what I don’t have.
- Enjoy the journey. What I now know for sure is that life is NOT about the destination. Not even close. It’s all about each and every experience along the way.
- Forgive myself when I am critical. Especially when I’m tired, I can get down on myself. So, I try my darndest to forgive myself.
- Make sure that the people in my life know how much I care about them. I try to say “I love you” and “Thank You” as often as I possibly can.
- Welcome change. The one constant in life is…change.
- Spend as much time with Suddenly Seven as I can. Time is going by so very quickly.
- Dream BIG and then follow those dreams.
Ted Hughes was a poet, named British Poet Laureate in 1984 until his death in 1998 at age 68. He was married to a favorite writer of mine, author and poet Sylvia Plath, from 1953 until her suicide in 1963 at age 30. She wrote the semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, written shortly before her death. In 1998 Hughes wrote Birthday Letters, his last poems, about his complex relationship with Plath. (They were a couple with the highs and lows of a romantic relationship on the order of F. Scott Fitzgerald and wife Zelda.) Certainly Ted Hugh's quote is true of these couples; they lived boldly, invested much in matters of the heart, and loved like nothing else counted.
Thanks for the quote which brought back memories from those days of reading them.
Thank you so much for your note, Carolee. Love it!