Page 68 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART ONE
guidance, he was content to take the money and bake. I know it was a small thing, but damn, I was filled with regret. I should have been more careful!
I know that this feeling will eventually dissipate, and I’ll eventually encounter another egregious display of greed. That’s just the way things work. While I am filled with regret at this pizza purchase, and I blame myself for not being more vig- ilant, I recognize that in the grand scheme of things, it won’t make or break me.
But there are regrets that we sometimes carry throughout our lives and all the way to our deathbeds. These are not just regrets that sting but leave a deep hole.
I encountered a conversation yesterday with a friend that featured a number of deep regrets. While this person is nowhere near his deathbed, he has carried these regrets for decades. I sense they are for him very much like luggage on a carousel that you find at the airport. The baggage continuously revolves in his mind. A number of his regrets involve decisions not taken — especially when it came to business opportunities. “I could have bought some real estate in the mid-70s in Toronto, but I was advised not to. That place would have brought in millions in revenue, and it would be worth a fortune now.”
Here’s another one: “I should have quit the job when they started to treat me like crap, but I never did.” Once his carousel started spinning, it never seemed to stop. There was a flood of regret and sorrow for decisions not taken. I tried to comfort my friend. I listened, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking, “Holy crap, I am glad I have the ability to let go.” Eventually, I had to get back home. But the depth of this man’s regret weighed heavily on me. It still does.
Bonnie Ware is an Australian nurse caring for numerous people on their deathbeds. She came up with a list of five of the biggest regrets of the dying, and it became a wildly popular blog post and eventually a book. I share them with you now, hoping you get a chance to reflect on what’s important.
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
“This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is
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