Dying Regrets

Death is a part of life, and we all have to face it and deal with it sooner or later.   All of us have lost someone, and it's never easy, often messy and always abrupt. 

One of my favorite blogs, Towleroad, posted a link to the UKs The Guardian refrencing the top five regrets of a dying person.  While the article is a little misleading in that it's really a rant against homeopathy...I'm still mesmerized by the actual list itself.   

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Of course everyone has their own list, but I really like the ones that made the cut.  

As someone whose mother doesn't have much time left, I hear her regrets, fears and laments every single day and I'll tell ya.....they're right in line with the above.   The main thing she repeats over and over is how fast it all went (IE Life).   My mom was married twice, had five children, several businesses, two very interesting careers and she often says it just went by so quickly.  "Where did the time go Geoff?"

I think this list is truly important.  Each one of those regrets has a ring of truth to it...and serves as a warning, or perhaps some gentle advice from a person who is on the precipice of taking that ultimate journey you and I will one day face.  

That list has a lot of wisdom....I hope I can heed their advice.