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The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist growing
The water flowing
The endless river...
David Gilmour's poignant lyric from
High Hopes recalls what someone once said: to those who think, the world is a comedy...to those who feel, it's a tragedy. But what about the poor devils who both think and feel?
The flickering lamp of history gropes along the trail of our past, trying to reconstruct its decisions, to revive its echoes, and to retrieve our irretrievable youth. The light shines on the "what-ifs" and "should-have-beens" that linger from decisions made: opportunities seized and those forsaken. What good does this do since our best intentions clouded with indecision are no match for the Fates or life's ironies? The perspective of time has lengthened and yesterdays are always seen in a different setting.
You hear a lot more of these sentiments lately flowing from colleagues of all ages and histories, expressing regret over not having done the right thing at the right time.Certainties are rare in competition, business, or relationships. In fact, very little is certain in any corner of our lives.
Over our personal and professional days, there are only a select number of waves rolling
past. Some beg to be caught, promising a life-changing moment to be captured. Others tempt and intrigue us, then roll away into the past. For some of us, there are only commitments and consequences-at least that's all I've even known. Sometimes it can paralyze you in those rare as pearls moments when you should act, should take it all in your own two hands then make the unlikely leap of deliverance that might change your life. But we hesitate just for a moment, and time has already swept over us.
Facing decisions of varying import really becomes a matter of using the knowledge and emotion we possess at a given moment, relying on the principle of calculated risk and potential reward. In the end, it's little more. Self-recrimination based on our belief that "we blew it" through a bad decision is like blaming the gravitational pull of the tides. Retracing footsteps back down the slope to rethink or to regret is a colossal waste of our time and emotion. What really matters is that we made a decision: a job, a move, a relationship or marriage. We figure our odds, calculate the risks, project the implications good or bad, then weigh anchor and shove off.
So if you're spending time in the small hours agonizing over a plan gone wrong or an opportunity missed along the way, let yourself off the hook. There's no such thing as "the last great chance." Recognizing which to engage and which to let pass by can make all the difference.
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