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Balanced with Gratitude: Turning Regrets into Possibilities
Lessons from Route 66
“Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only good for wallowing in.” — Katherine Mansfield
In twelve days I turn 66.
I have a feeling more of my life is behind me than ahead of me. Should that fill me with regret? We’re fond of saying, wish I’d known then what I know now. The cake and eat it too we want is to be young again with our older self’s wisdom.
It doesn’t work that way. What does work for me is to balance regret with gratitude.
Being an Air Force Brat
So for example, when I was a young military brat we moved frequently. That posed two huge problems.
One, just when we started to make good friends, we’d have to up and leave. Often that would be at the beginning of summer so we’d have to arrive at our next home with few ways to meet kids and make new friends until school started.
But what about the blessings of that life? Thanks to being a military brat, I got to see the world including England and Japan as well as Texas and the central coast of California. Thanks to the military, I got to explore new cultures.
