if I could do it over

Today's question swirling around in my mind is, "When you see someone in tireless pursuit of their dream, how does that make you feel?"


In that first instant I am filled with joy, but when the moment passes there are so many other emotions fighting each other inside me. I think back to dreams I had as a young person and wonder what they could have become. I am nostalgic. I miss feeling hopeful about the future. I get angry because there are so many people in the world who want others to fail so they can feel better about themselves. I feel upset because I burned so many bridges, most of them unintentional. Then I wonder how today’s young people are faring. So much responsibility is on their shoulders. They seem to have even less time than we did to get things right.

After all that, I look around at the people I surround myself with and I am content. I wake up every day happy to be alive. I feel love around me. Can there really be much else to want? Sometimes I wonder if that makes me lazy. I guess today was one of those “sometimes” days. When I was young, I felt that way every day. There is so much pressure in youth.