17 January 2012

If I could turn back time: a Blog Off post

Every two weeks the blogosphere comes alive as blogger of every stripe weigh in on the same topic. The topic for this iteration of the Blog Off is "If I could turn back time."


When my Blog Off partner in crime suggested this topic I bristled at the very idea of it. I'm somebody who makes it a point never to look back unless it's to learn from a mistake I made along the way. Heaven knows I've made more than my share of mistakes in my 47 years and lessons from those mistakes abound.

Wishing I could turn back the clock is about as big a waste of time as I can imagine. It's easy to while away an afternoon wishing I knew at 25 what I know now. Were that possible I'd spend the bulk of my days throttling my younger self. Don't fall in love! Don't take that job! Save your money! I'm already my own harshest critic and given the opportunity to berate my younger self would grant me a hobby the likes of which I've never seen.

But over the years I've learned that the past is just that, the past. I can't change or fix anything that happened then and wishing it were so is a fool's errand. My grandmother Anater used to say "You can't put an old head on young shoulders" and now that I'm tilting toward 50 I understand what she meant.

I like getting older and despite my bad back and crow's feet, I like most of what comes along with the aging process. It's funny that as my body starts to break down my mind has never been more alert and attuned to the world around me. Finally, I understand how the world works and I understand my place in it. I like who I am now and I'm comfortable in my own skin. That's not a statement my younger self could have made.

If it were possible to whisper all of this wisdom to the 25-year-old version of me, his head would have exploded. I couldn't have handled then what I know now.

So to answer the question  "If I could turn back time" my answer is I wouldn't.

To see how the rest of today's participants handled this topic, check back throughout today. A table with links to all of today's Blog Off blogger will appear below.





3 comments:

  1. Great post Paul and I think we think on much the same lines.

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  2. Paul, I agree with Tood, you both take a no re-do, no-regret approach to the topic. I believe this shows strong confidence and that it indicates a bright future to anyone who thinks similarly.

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  3. You are right, Paul - we can't turn back time and it is probably just as well. Learning to be happy with who we are is very important.

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