suddenlysinglewomen

I was recently reading an article in a monthly newsletter and it’s subject matter was certainly something that I have spent hours reflecting upon.  As I enter the “senior” time of my life, I look back at all the things I postponed, because of _______________.   (Fill in the blank)  There always seems to be a good reason, at the time, to put off the adventure I long for.

This article was entitled:  “Risk While You Can” and written by Dwight Edwards.  Below is an excerpt that I share with you all.

“Not long ago a survey was done among a large group of elderly men and women.  The question was asked, “What three things would you do differently if you could live your life over?”  They were then given a dozen or so possible answers to choose from.  Guess what response ranked number one?  “I would have risked more” was the runaway, first place answer.

How interesting!  In the twilight of their lives, their greatest regret was not that they hadn’t made enough money, hadn’t  visited enough countries, hadn’t made a bigger name for themselves, etc.  It was simply that they had played safe too often, had settled for vanilla too frequently, and too easily had chosen the safety of the bench rather than the dangers and glories of being actually out on the field.  But they couldn’t escape the lingering regret of shunned risks and forfeited possibilities.  Risking always costs; but not risking often costs even more in the long run.  Someone put it well:

“There was a very cautious man,

Who never laughed or played;

He never risked, he never tried,

He never sang or prayed.

And when he one day passed away

His insurance was denied;

For since he never really lived,

They claimed he never died!”

Wayne Gretzky, the greatest to ever skate the ice, is exactly right – “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”

The author’s advice????     “Let’s take the shots!”