“NOT”

A few years ago a life-size chalkboard was posted on a street in NYC with a prompt that made those passing by, stop and wonder:  “What’s your biggest regret?” A social experiment.

What is YOUR biggest regret?

Can you imagine what others might list as their biggest regrets? What might they be? As different as we all are you might think that our regrets would be vastly different. What they soon realized from the accumulated responses was there was a common theme.

The regrets were not about things they had done, but rather what they ‘had not’ done. Every person, in some form or another used the word ‘not’.

Not saying I love you

Not going after dreams

Not leaving comfort zone

Not leaving an unhealthy relationship

Not having kids while father was still alive

Not treating people better

Not taking chances

Words not spoken

Time not used well

 Are you carrying regrets? Are you aware of just how heavy regrets are when you try to carry them? Let’s picture that chalkboard with our biggest regret written on it; take a big eraser and wipe it all away; let that regret go.

 Now, you begin with a clean slate. Every day gives us the opportunity for a clean slate. Every day is an opportunity to do things you might otherwise regret NOT doing.

 May we not regret the chances we didn’t take or the relationships we didn’t have or decisions that took us too long.

We will most regret the thing we never tried to do. Don’t miss out. Today, go, do!

 Ecclesiastes 3:1: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

Pat Donahoo