Regrets, I've had a few...

Any regrets?

A nephew posed this sudden question while we were chatting about my path through life and how I'm currently getting on and what are my future plans. 

Well, I'm at that age when most folks are looking back more often than forward.  But I'd rather be looking forward than back because I'm now doing the things I really wanted to do in life in spite of the fact that there may be no economic returns whatsoever.  And even if that seems to be the only conventional means of measuring a successful endeavor, it doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing whatever I'm doing.

Looking back is inevitable.  Everyone does that in spite of saying it's pointless to look back when you're trying to move forward.  And if one keeps looking back then he's not moving forward.  And I'd say, 'Haven't you heard of a rear-view mirror?'  Take a glance or two sometimes.  We're not supposed to be looking back all the time.  We only need to find out if we are going in the right direction by knowing where the wrong directions are.

Well, I do have some regrets.  But when I really thought about it, those the were times when I had to make decisions based on the given circumstances.  I believe I wouldn't have done any better if I were to walk down that same path again with those very same conditions.  And I'd lived with what I've chosen.

So, like old blue eyes, the rest of us could still sing that same old song:

'Regrets...I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
I saw it through without exemption...'

Eventually, most of us could still say, 'I did it MY way'....

On spirituality

Sometimes we feel so small and insignificant and are totally helpless against the troubles that plague us daily.  It's not about religion.  Religion is a group belief and concerns more about rituals, code of ethics, and philosophy.  And usually it is more of form than substance. 

It is more about personal faith & belief in something bigger than ourselves that is benevolent, omnipresent and powerful that can give us the strength and tenacity to keep going and help keep our sanity intact.  It is the tie that binds us back to one that created us.  

It's what we think and do, and the results and the effects upon others around us that are important to all, here and now.  Too much preoccupation in preparation for the hereafter makes no sense.  When we go we take nothing with us. 

But we do leave an impression for those who stay behind.  I think it's important that we leave one that everyone would want to emulate.

Greed

One of the seven deadly sins is giving in to greed. 

Once you start taking what you don't earn from an honest day's work or a legitimate deal you get deeper into it.  And it's habit forming too. 

Unfortunately there are many nowadays who have no qualms about doing it.  Even those in public service.  When you're in that kind of thing it's difficult to get out.  There's no turning back.  They won't let you because you could squeal and give them away.  So they string you along with extra perks.  In the end it's like having sold yourself.  You're a slave to graft.  It becomes a way of life.  You keep doing it and you become pretty slick.  You start to believe you're pretty smart.  You cover your tracks well.

But one day you make a slip.  You think your so-called friends are covering your flanks for you.  You overlook some small detail.  But your friends think you're losing it.  You're getting too fat for your own good.  You let your guard down.  For you, they decide it's over.  You've become an excess baggage.  The public outcry is too loud.  Citizens are outraged.  The carpet's too small to cover your dirt. 

They let you walk into that trap...