Inspiration – It Might Have Been

 Inspiration – It Might Have Been

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd

John Greenleaf Whittier is the man who wrote today’s quote which goes “For all sad words of tongue & Pen, the saddest are these ‘It might have been’”.

I am often asked if I had to die right now if I had any regrets.  On the face of it, it’s a really simple question but look beneath the surface and it becomes a whole lot more.

For many, there is little more than the drudgery of life.  Putting one step in front of the other with no thought to anything other than remaining barely alive.

For many, there is nothing more than the hope of finding a few hours of work in order to put food on the table.

For others, there is nothing more than the hope that your favorite intersection has not been taken by someone else, and you are forced to beg elsewhere in the heat of the sun, or the cold of winter, through the storms and winds.  Forced to look at people who either show sympathy by giving you a few coins or disgust at the fact that you are begging or many who don’t even see you as human – to them you are invisible.

For many, who merely exist from day to day, there aren’t even any dreams of what could be or what might be, all they have to look forward to tomorrow is exactly what they had today – nothing!

I wonder what they would say if they were asked if they had any regrets?  I wonder if their very lives are something that they regret?

What about those who have been physically and mentally damaged by violence, by crime, by life – would they even understand what regret is, or are they locked into a world so very far from ours?

So, to get back to the original question – do I have regrets, I don’t think so.  There are many things that I have done, that in hindsight, I would have probably done very differently.  But actual regrets – no – I think everything that was meant to happen, has happened at exactly the right time and space that it was supposed to have happened.  Any sooner and I would not have been able to cope and any later and I would have been off in another direction.

So, you see – I am one of the lucky ones.  I can dream, I have hope and although I may have been slightly ‘damaged’ along the way, by life – I am still essentially just exactly who I am meant to be.

Will I change – of course, I will!  I will continue to grow, I will continue to dream and I will continue to move forward – just as I always have.

What about you – any regrets?

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za