Regret

In Charles Frazier's Civil War novel Cold Mountain there's a line: "He tried to name which of the deadly seven [sins] might apply, and when he failed he decided to append an eighth, regret."

What do I regret?  Sometimes I regret that I didn't develop my singing talents at an earlier age. (I took it up in middle age, and now I can sing a range of two octaves!) And I sometimes wish I'd taken up acting back then. More importantly, there have been times when people were friendly to me and I wish I'd reciprocated.  But I just wasn't ready!

I suppose that life sometimes comes down to a choice of doing something and regretting it, or leaving it undone and regretting that.  Personally, I'm more likely to regret the things I didn't do than what I did.

My favorite line in Casablanca is, "If that plane takes off and you aren't on it, you'll regret it.  Maybe not today.  Maybe not tomorrow.  But soon, and for the rest of your life."

I like Willie Nelson's country song "Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys."