A man/ woman is Not Old Till Regrets replace Dreams

A lot of aging is not aging but who we choose to become. When we were young we were being pushed and expected to do great things. Maybe too much was expected, and most of us had our dream and plans. Some of us feel we got lucky and realized our dreams, all of us have regrets, and some just have regrets and have stopped dreaming and they are OLD.  Regrets have taken over and they have NO dreams and that is what OLD is all about. Old, is not easy, but with justs regrets and no hopes and dreams it is very sad. Very, Very, sad. 

Regrets, some will say, but I have them. You cannot undo one thing, but you may be able to make amends, do better now. You can hope and dream that things will be possible and if it doesn’t work just keep hoping and keep trying to find a way to make it better. You will be happier with your hope and you never know what will happen when you change yourself. I  won’t get spiritual, so you just forgive yourself, or ask forgiveness, and really try to fix the wrong if you can. If you dreamed of a different job, you may never work again, but you may be able to volunteer for work of that type. I know a man who retired and he is working full time doing work that nuns and priests did . He is very religious. If you wanted to be a teacher, you could be a tutor. The point move forward with hope and actions. You have a choice. Revive hope and fan the flames and drive out regrets with doing something now. Dream and try.

You may say, “it is Too late”. It is not too late for others just like you. I have been through being sad, and being haunted by regrets, we all have. Some of just move forward anyway and leaving behind what we can do absolutely nothing about. Regrets can show us where we got off track, and then we can figure how to get back on track. Otherwise just ditch the regrets, wipe the slate clean, and start living with dreams and plans. People who live with dreams and plans are happy, and busy and not OLD. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been battling cancer for many years and she is 85 and she said, I will keep working as long as I am healthy”. People need to inspire you to live, and move forward. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a US Supreme Court Justice and she knows she makes a difference in the lives of others every day she goes to work. 

I or you are not RBG, or some other person known for skill, talent and success, but we can all make a difference in our smaller corner of the world. Regrets are to be chased away with Dreams of today and the next day and crowded out with happy optimism and positive actions.

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  1. Regrets are pointless and I think should just be classed as a stepping stone to what we become, they are a learning curve and shouldn’t be dwelled upon or they become more time wasted,keep your dreams and bucket lists if you have any,if not get what you can out of each day, whatever it is that makes you content,its too great a expectation to be wonderfully happy all the time,content with your lot whatever that may be could be the way to peace of mind

  2. I think I understand where you’re coming from, but I disagree: losing hope and having regrets isn’t a sign of “oldness” – one becomes old when one thinks one is old. I know people in their 40s who refer to themselves as old, whereas I, in my mid 50s, still think of myself as “not old”, despite having no dreams to speak of beyond finding a good woman to come alongside me in this journey of life. I’ve always thought that people who insist they have no regrets are, no offense intended, lying to themselves and just pushing away the regrets they DO have and hiding from them. I have many regrets, but I don’t live in them 24/7. That said, regrets often come in the form of traumas that seriously degrade a person’s emotional, spiritual and mental health, and just trying to sweep such under the carpet is merely ignoring that which needs attention, and indulging in a form wishful thinking / denial.
    Time and again I’ve seen on “dating” sites (all of which I’ve now removed myself from – I don’t believe in “dating”), where women (particularly) insist on a prospect having “no baggage” – as if that’s even possible once one has been alive on this Earth for more than a year or 2. I’d equate “baggage” with “regrets”, and I’ve yet to meet anyone over the last 55 years, who was honest, open and transparent about themselves, who isn’t nursing, intentionally or otherwise, some kind of “baggage”, regret, trauma or other long-term scar that defines them and their view of life, whether they admit it or not. What’s sad to me is how many people hide from their pain, their regrets, believing if they just ignore them, fill their lives with stuff and busyness, that somehow, magically, everything will be OK. Life doesn’t work that way. The human heart and soul don’t work that way.
    Sooner or later, one has to pay the Piper, the chickens come home to roost, and whatever other metaphor one chooses to use. Not saying we should just give up and camp in defeat, depression or regret, but pretending one doesn’t have such, and that one isn’t to some degree defined by them, is a hiding to nothing and simply kicks the can down the road a bit further, making dealing with regrets and baggage all that more difficult when one DOES become “old”. So, no, I don’t believe regrets make a person old, they make them human. Even dwelling on regrets doesn’t make a person old, even if it does potentially damage their “now” and future. One is “old” when one believes one is old, and not a minute before. I might consider myself “old” when I get into my 70s, but until then, I’ve got plenty of “young” left in me, and my heart, despite my own baggage and regrets.