Are there times when you wish that you had done something different? Or times when you regret doing something that has affected you ever since? I know that both apply to me. I wonder if this will provoke thoughts or feelings in some readers? If so, please add your own examples in the comments.
There are times…when I wish that I had gone to university. I have no way of knowing if that would have made my life turn out any differently to what it is now. But I could have gone, and at the time it would have been free of charge too. I should have gone, and perhaps studied one of my passions.
There are times…when I wonder what it might have been like to have had children. Not that it is something I have ever regretted, I assure you. But I have wondered.
There are times...when I regret not going to live abroad, when I had the chance. If only for a while, as it might have been something good to look back on now, and would have undoubtedly broadened my horizons at a fertile time for my mind.
There are times…when I wish I had waited to get married, (the first time) as who knows how my life might have been different had I not spent eight years with someone who almost certainly regretted her decision.
There are times…when I miss London. After spending sixty years there, that’s understandable. But fortunately, it soon passes.
There are times…when I feel I should make more effort to keep in touch with my oldest friends. We are all getting on now, and none of us know how long we will be around.
There are times…when I wish I had developed more practical skills. I have grown up not equipped to do so many basic things, and now have to pay others to do them for me. It’s all very well being able to read Jean-Paul Sartre in French, but that wont help you fix a problem with the plumbing.
There are times...when I wish I was more organised. Surrounded by piles of paperwork, never knowing where anything is, and constantly looking for things I have lost can all become very tiring, believe me.
So there are just a few of my ‘times’. Over to you.
There are times I wish I had been more adventurous.
There are times I wish I had not been such a rule follower.
There are times I wish I had gone to art school.
There are times I wish I had not given up my chance to live in England.
There are times I wish …
I do not dwell in this space, but I do reflect. Not in a sad or maudlin way. Just in an ‘I wonder” way.
I am not unhappy with my life. I am very fortunate. But that does not negate the fact that there are things I wish I had done differently.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for revisiting the post and adding your thoughts, Maggie.
I didn’t know you had the chance to live in England. It might well have depended whereabouts in this country you had settled, as to whether or not you would have enjoyed living here.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pete, when I was in the military, I became enthralled with England. One of the officers I worked with had been stationed in England and his stories made me want to go there.
At the same time, my mother’s cancer was progressing at a rapid rate. My parents had moved back home, I had found love with a childhood sweetheart and wanted badly to be home with my family.
About the time my mother passed away, I received orders to go to Lakenheath (in Suffolk I think). Travel had lost its appeal. I (foolishly) got married and chose to leave the Air Force (an option that no longer exists).
It was the start of a downward spiral and one of the reasons I sometimes wish I had gone. I think I would have loved it. More than you wanted to know I am sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lakenheath is 50 minutes from here. I drive past it all the time. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It has always remained a mystery to me. One of the ‘could have beens’ in my life. Thanks, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakenheath 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Pete. Looks like a place I would have enjoyed. Still hope to visit some day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes my sentence always begins with ” I wish I…..”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I know that feeling, Arlene. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
More from our man in Beetley…
LikeLiked by 1 person
An interesting list, Pete. I actually didn’t really realise that you didn’t have children. You never mentioned any but the penny just didn’t drop. I sometimes wish that I didn’t feel the weight of my financial responsibilities so heavily and I could take a work sabbatical and I think recently, that we should have left South Africa years ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Robbie. I have never been to SA. It looks lovely, but I am also aware of the political issues, crime statistics, and how some families live in high-security homes. Whatever the issues over here, I doubt it will ever be like that.
As for children, I wrote this in 2012, when very few people knew I had a blog. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting thoughts!! I definitely have those….. especially about getting married at 19 and giving up a higher education in arts….. it took me 18 years to get out of that abuse. Could I have been a artist by now? Maybe…. I believe I have the talent.
BUT! I’m happy where I am now… if my life had taken a different course, would I still be able to say that I was happy?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true, Rebecca. I suppose the correct answer for all of us, is that we will never know.
But I am genuinely pleased to hear that you escaped abuse, and found a better life.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Best wishes to you too Pete!
LikeLiked by 1 person
To misquote Robert Pirsig: The plumbing you are fixing, the paperwork you are organising, is yourself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I never did finish that book, David. But I always remember one of his famous quotes.
‘It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, ‘Go away, I’m looking for the truth,’ and so it goes away. Puzzling.’
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
What ifs? I got a degree and now wonder if I’d be better off studying a trade. Actually, I could have done both but a lot of life, especially when young and impressionable, is not entirely in our control.
And the grass always looks greener elsewhere! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true, BF. That ‘greener grass’ has a lot to answer for. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
I should have re-thought my second marriage…..it was a disaster that lasted a little over a year……other than that I am pretty okay….chuq
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to hear it all worked out in the end, chuq. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By the By how is the back doing? chuq
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is more or less normal now, thanks. As long as I remember to be ‘careful’. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to hear….just be careful….sounds like something your wife is saying right? LOL chuq
LikeLiked by 1 person
The only reflecting I do is in the mirror, and then only occasionally and briefly, which reminds me I’m 6-months overdue for a haircut!
I’m also pretty certain I should have waited for the rain to stop before I planted the tomatoes, still que sera sera 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Your life is very involved and busy, Eddy. Mine is not. I have too much time for contemplation, I know that. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My wish is that I had the same attitude as so many of the others here and didn’t look back. However, I do and am filled with regret. Perhaps I am feeling a little blue today I don’t know, but I certainly have made some poor choices. Sorry to sound maudlin!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not at all, Katie. Perhaps this post hit a nerve. I know how you feel. The positive outlook of so many of those who have commented makes me envious. I sincerely hope that you feel better soon. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Pete … sorry for being such a grumpy old goat. 😕
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem. Anyway, being a grumpy old goat is my job, Katie!
I have a Masters Degree in ‘Grump’. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😘
LikeLike
There are times when I wish I could have a do-over on my high school years. That was the only time in my life when I wasn’t happy, and I like the person I have become in the subsequent 40+ years. If I only knew then what I know now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The dilemma of hindsight, Pete. If we knew it back then, we might well have changed what happened. And then nothing would be the same. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
All the things I have (or have not) done have brought me to where I am now. I’m comfortable with that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s great to hear, Peggy. Where you are now seems like a very good place.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No regrets! The mistakes, the ommissions, the highs, and lows — it’s who we are. I do hope that I won’t feel like my life is over. I always want to explore and reinvent myself.
LikeLiked by 3 people
You are doing a pretty good job of it so far, Cindy. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
You, too, my dear friend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t even begin to list my ‘there are times whens…..’ the sadness that would bring is more than unbearable. I focus on the life I have now, and the life yet to come, it is the only way I’d stay sane.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know your feelings on this retrospective stuff, FR. Unfortunately for me, I am sometimes overwhelmed by such things. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wonder things like this too much. I then feel guilty for every decision I make. Something I need to work on but this is a great post and you are so right that things could turn out completely different if not.😀😘 Xoxox.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Dani. The older I get, the more I think about all this ‘stuff’. Most of the time, I find it very interesting to just ‘wonder’. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete. xx
LikeLike
I love reading about your musings! You are such an interesting man!😘
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Dani. I am happy that you think I’m interesting. 🙂 x
Best wishes, Pete. xx
LikeLike
Of course, I do! You rock! Xoxo!
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are times when I regret a word choice. I hate that. Especially when it’s not even “questionable” but totally wrong. Brutal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a very scholarly ‘there are times’, Pam. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How funny. Was listening to Holding Back the years by Simply Red.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s nice when such coincidences happen, Alex. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wishing my life were different than it is right now, is just another way of saying I wish I didn’t exist, had never been born, etc. We are a collection of thoughts, memories, judgments, and imagined encounters. We rarely see with any clarity what we are actually doing until much later and then we are dependent upon decayed memories to determine who did what. The imagined individual we believed ourselves to be dies from moment to moment. We have little to zero free will and about the best we can do is what feels the best at any moment, which is what most of us actually do. We are riding a wild, bucking bronco we call our life and all we can do is try to hold on and ride that bastard to a standstill. 🙂
LikeLiked by 5 people
Amen!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for your great comment, Charlie. I don’t ever actually wish that my life was different. But I do ponder on the choices I have made during it. I am well aware that it’s far too late to worry about that now though. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
i believe regularly reviewing one’s life is a good thing, Pete. i just don’t look too far too long. i focus more on now and forward and continue to get inspired. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a positive approach indeed, Wilma.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
I will come back to this post my family visit. Interesting thoughts.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Maggie. You enjoy your family. Blogs can wait! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are times when I dwell, and ‘if only’, but most of the time my rule is no regrets….too futile
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I agree. Not much point in regrets. But ‘what ifs’ can sometimes be entertaining to ponder. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are times when I wish so badly I had not obeyed my parents when they talked me out of becoming a journalist…
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s a good one, Kerin. You might have been a campaigning reporter. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. I’m pretty sure I would be that…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think most everyone has a very similar list to yours, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I wonder, GP. 🙂
Quite a few of those on here are resistant to dwelling in the past, with good reason. However, I find it strangely comforting.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A person’s past is what made them today – no one can escape it, no matter what they say
LikeLiked by 3 people
I agree GP! Had to laugh about “It’s all very well being able to read Jean-Paul Sartre in French, but that wont help you fix a problem with the plumbing”, because i cant imagine Sartre was able to change a light bulb. Lol Michael
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know what you mean, Michael. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
Good one, Michael!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am amazed by the way I seemed basically to fall into rather than plan my life. I wonder about many things, right now I wonder why I didn’t study more history. I also wonder why I took physical fitness for granted until I lost it and had to go to the gym to regain it. I appreciated this chance to muse with you.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Elizabeth. I think ‘musing’ is good. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know what you mean Pete! So many choices to make in life, and we do the best we can at the time! Some things you can’t change of course, but some you can! You can make more trips to London, for instance. Maybe study things you wished you’d learned earlier. (Piano, for me came late in life, but I’m still endeavoring to learn.) I often wonder about some of the things over which I had little or no control. How they could have turned out worse, but instead worked out for the best! I’m thankful for those! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for your thoughts, Susanne. I am guilty of spending too much time on reflection, but I cannot help myself wondering. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The only way is forward! No doubts that we all feel the same way, even some don’t admit it, and some live in denial… But we are all human, and we all face the same dilemmas! It’s how we deal with them that will define us! Great post!❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Of course, living in the past is often counter-productive, but at my age, I often dwell there. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re not the only one Pete, I can assure you! ☺️ And it can be counter-productive but it can also be helpful and therapeutic, I think! You just need to do it but keep focusing on what is ahead! Thank you so much, I really enjoyed it!🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
I try not to look too far back…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know what you mean, Jack. I just can’t manage to shake it off. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a shame that Jean-Paul Sartre never wrote a DIY book about plumbing.
I could regret any number of life decisions, but I prefer to think about the future. I can’t change the past.
LikeLiked by 4 people
That is a good way to think, David. Just a shame I have never been able to do the same. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person