Recently, someone shared with me that she was once in a near fatal auto accident. But “luck” was on her side and she walked away with only a few scratches. She stated that what she realized about the experience was, unlike the typical realizations most have in such near-death circumstances – one of panic at not having accomplished what one has set out to do in life – was not her response. She realized from the accident that she did not have any regrets. She was living her life right on target.
“Wow,” I thought. “I don’t know if I could say that about my
own life.”
Admittedly, I am a lover of many things and even if I lived
past the age of 100, I would not be able to get to it all done. I would need
more than one lifetime to do everything I want to do and experience. I suspect
that when my time arrives, I may not have full-blown regret, but I might be a
bit bummed that the show is over.
I guess it is a good thing, then, that I have landed into
the role of journalist and writer. I get the
opportunity to meet and write
about interesting people. In doing so, I get to live life vicariously through
them. But more importantly, it helps me to focus more clearly upon the
direction at which I choose to shoot my own arrows.
In this week’s publication, I met up with fellow co-worker,
Dave Harrigan (www.lifestyles.thewindhameagle.com/2018/03/time4printing-welcomes-multi-talented.html) as well as many family and friends of
Catherine Bishop as they shared memories of her life (www.lifestyles.thewindhameagle.com/2018/03/the-party-must-go-on-honoring-life-of.html). One
was the true adventurer, exploring the many corners of the world, while perfecting
his artistic skills. The other stayed put in one place, carrying out her own
creative and active life. The interesting
thing is, neither seemed to have missed out – both living their life happily
and right on their personal target.
What I discovered in my interviews with both of these
individuals is that although their arrows may have contained different colors
and traveled at different speeds, the bull’s eye of all things significant was
the same.
A little faith with a lot of action.
Dave often donned his wings and took flight in the direction
of strange places. It took a little faith to charter unknown territory, especially
the faith to act. Catherine was in action mode all of her life, much of which
was given to the needs of others. In doing so, she relied on a little faith
that all would work out just fine.
Being fully human
At moments, Dave thought he needed to settle down and grow
up, but in accepting where his life took him, he reached a pivotal moment in
his life that helped him focus his skills that contributed to his success. With
Catherine, what you saw was what you got. And that’s what people loved the most
about her.
Recognizing the gift before them
Both Dave and Catherine honored their greatest gifts – their
families, putting them first.
Although Dave’s arrow may have taken some twists and turns
while Catherine’s was more horizontal, they both aimed at life full steam ahead
– without any regrets.
As for me, I’ve been to Hong Kong, Japan and New York City
and played slot machines in Las Vegas. All in less than 24 hours.
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