This morning as I walked the dog in the early morning chill, I realize, once again; I’m a lucky guy. My life is complete in what I have. I have absolutely no needs. There are wants and desires and dreams aplenty, but if I laid my head down for the last time there are no burning regrets. There are many things I would have done differently in an instant replay of life. However, more than the successes found along the way, I believe it is the rocks in the road and outright failure that shape who we are. More important, it is how we handle life’s challenges and move forward; this is the stuff that defines our character.
I have reached a point where I can stare down my bucket list and accept reality. I probably never going to stand on the top of Denali or any of the Himalayan peaks that I’ve read about and dreamed about since I was a child. There’s a good chance I’m not going to complete a full course triathlon; not with these knees. There are many others that I’ve come to terms with. I might not even get to single-hand across the ocean under sail, but I’ll keep that one in the bucket for now.
For all that is in or no longer in my bucket, what I’ve gained in immeasurable. I am married to the love of my life. I have children and grandchildren that complete my purpose. I have a creative outlet through music and the band I play with. I live the dream life on a beautiful boat in a marina with a large live-a-board community. The kind of place where people go out of the way to lend a hand or gather for a potluck ‘just because it’s Tuesday’. I could count my diminishing bucket of dreams, goals, and aspirations as loss, how audacious it seems to lay a blanket of regret over all I have. For the good, the bad, for all that I am; I’m a lucky guy!
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