Live Life With No Regrets

We often take life for granted. We have so many distractions and preoccupations that we forget we are on a deadline. We know deep in our hearts that no amount of money or resources will add a single second to what is given us. Yet we spend much of our time and energy on accumulating wealth and prestige that in the end we still find ourselves regretting missing out on the best things in life.


Erma Bombeck was a famous American Humorist. She has published bestsellers, wrote over 4,000 newspaper columns featured in 900 newspapers in the US and Canada. At 69 she died of complications from a kidney transplant. She endured an untreatable kidney disease for 49 years, breast cancer and a mastectomy. She is an inspiration to those who succeeded in life in spite of having dreaded diseases. Nevertheless, she wrote a short essay about her regrets when she found out she had terminal cancer. Clearly, just like any Tom, Dick, Harry, and Jane, when faced with imminent death we finally get to realize what is truly important, our relationships with our loved ones and with God.

Live life with no regrets

- Focus on relationships
- Don't overwork yourself at the expense of family
- Allow yourself to be happy
- Don't think much of what others would say or think of
- Live your life the way you want not my parents'
- Forgive those who did you wrong - Visit good friends while they are still alive
- Being better parents
- Be generous with others

If I Had My Life to Live Over

By Erma Bombeck

I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. 

I would have eaten the popcorn in the "GOOD" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. 

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. 

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. 

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. 

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains. 

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. 

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. 

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. 

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment realizing that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. 

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later, now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's" ... more "I'm sorry's" ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute ... look at it and really see it ... live it .. and never give it back.