We often go through life acting as if we have all the time in the world. When we’re young, the future stretches out before us, seemingly infinite. We put off pursuing our dreams, telling ourselves we’ll get to it someday. We neglect to nurture important relationships, figuring there will always be time to reconnect later. We fail to take risks or seize opportunities, assuming chances will come around again. Living with a false sense that life will last forever, we squander much of the precious time we have.
But the older I get, the more I realize how fleeting and unpredictable life truly is. I look back with regret on the many things I put off for tomorrow that never came. The goals and ambitions I figured I’d get to eventually, the hobbies I meant to take up, the places I hoped to travel to someday – so many “somedays” that slipped away while I wasn’t paying attention. If only I had treated each day as the irreplaceable gift it was, rather than an endless resource to use up carelessly.
I think about the relationships in my life that withered from neglect, not out of malice but because I always thought I’d have time to revive them later. The friends I lost touch with, assuming our bond was strong enough to pick up where we left off no matter how much time passed. The family I didn’t call or visit often enough because it seemed there would be plenty of chances in the future. Now I realize how much I missed out on by failing to invest in those connections when I had the chance. Time has a way of getting away from us.
Some of my deepest regrets stem from the chances I didn’t take because I figured I could always do it later. The business I dreamed of starting, the career change I contemplated, the causes I cared about but never threw myself into. Risk is scary, but by waiting for the perfect moment, I let many moments pass me by altogethime. I played it safe, but missed out on the exhilaration and meaning that come from bold leaps into the unknown.
If I could talk to my younger self, I would urge him not to take a single day for granted. To pursue his passions, tell people how much they matter to him, dive headfirst into what makes him feel alive. I’d tell him that life is heartbreakingly short and fragile. That there will never be a better time than now to go after what he wants and make the most of every experience.
I can’t undo the time I wasted by living like life would last forever. But I can commit, from this day forward, to embrace each moment as the rare and wonderful thing it is. Because when I look back someday, I want to know that I squeezed every drop out of this wild, beautiful, finite life I’ve been given. I don’t want to reach the end wishing I had lived more fully along the way.