NO REGRETS

When I was an undergraduate, I played the piano and sang with a Christian group in university. One day, we were supposed to visit an elderly, bedridden woman in her home. All the arrangements were made, and we promised we would be there. It rained that day, not heavily but enough to make the day a lazy one, the kind that makes you feel like lounging around at home. The hours went by, and we got lazier and lazier. Finally, it was evening, and we told ourselves that it was too late to visit the old woman. We could always visit her another day.

We never did get to visit that lady. She died that night. We were shell-shocked when we got the news. Her son told me that she had been so excited when she heard that she would be having guests that she had made a painstaking effort to put on nice clothes - no mean feat considering her frail condition. She had even sat up for a little while on her bed. She passed away waiting for us to show up.

That experience left a deep inprint on my soul. I have never forgotten that I made a promise to someone who died disappointed, waiting for me to honor that promise. Actions speak louder than words, and that lesson taught me that my words were hollow without action. And my life as a Christian was weak if I could not make the time and effort to show love and compassion.

You know that saying about regretting what you have NOT done in life, rather than what you HAVE done? That's so true. I would like to say that I was transformed after that experience, and that I never procrastinated again and that I always did what I planned to do. And that I always made time for someone who needed a listening ear and a loving touch.

But, sadly, that's not true. I have been lazy again on many occasions, and I have put things off far too many times. This Friday will mark four months since my father passed away, and this Sunday will be Father's Day. My father had worked hard all his life to support his family. His financial commitments and various health problems had made it virtually impossible for him to travel or go on vacation. I had planned to bring him on a one-day driving trip just across the border, but I never did. There always seemed to be other priorities, or I was just put off by his grouchiness.

For the same reasons, I always meant to spend more time with my father, but failed to do so. I had discovered nice restaurants which I meant to bring him to, but I never got around to it. In the last few months of his life, when he was very ill and hospitalized, I spent more time with my father than I had ever spent in typical years. It occurred to me the other day that I had never once brought my father out for his birthday. I'm the youngest in a family of eight and I always assumed that somebody would take care of that. In fact, most of the time it was my father who arranged dinner at a restaurant on his birthday, and it was he who personally called all of my siblings, one by one, to come for his birthday dinner.

I could have taken my dad out for lunch, at least, on his birthday. But I never did. And now it's too late.

Good intentions are worthless without action. Time goes by too fast, and we are left with regrets. Is there something you've always wanted to to, but have been putting off? Perhaps you've always wanted to start a business, or learn how to swim. When I started Cherish Collectibles and Silver Butterfly Jewelry, it was a few years later than I had hoped for, but at least I did it! Don't waste another day! Do something about it NOW! Or perhaps there's someone you've been meaning to call or see. Maybe you've been meaning to see your dad this Father's Day. What are you waiting for? Pick up that phone!

Don't end your life with a pile of regrets. Take concrete action today. Follow these steps:

• Draw up a list of things you've been planning to do and people you've been planning to call upon.
  
• Write this title right on the top of the page : "NO MORE REGRETS!".
  
• Act on those items on your list, one by one, and cross them out as you take action on them.
  
• Put the list in a prominent place, where you'll always be able to see it.

One step at a time, you can make every month meaningful and satisfying. NO MORE REGRETS!