- A Friend
Living Without Regret
I could hear the clicking of a keyboard as I approached the
computer bay. I was walking through an
office work area toward another room where I was going to attend a
meeting. As I got closer, I was surprised
to recognize the person tapping the keys.
“Hi Lynn,” my friend said when he looked up and saw me.
I could tell this was going to be a short detour now that I
had seen this friend, but it didn’t matter because I was excited to speak with
him. We hadn’t talked for a few months
and this chance encounter was a welcome respite from a harried day. My friend’s smile was also a welcome site
since I knew he hadn’t always felt like smiling over the past few years.
As we began our conversation his smile increased and it had
the effect of a soothing rain as it washed the heat of the day from existence.
“Have you been spending enough time with your family the
past few weeks?” He asked.
It was a common question from this particular friend. He is always great about helping me to stay focused
on what really matters.
“Always remember why you work!” He continued. “We don’t work for money or for the work
itself. We work so we can spend time
with our families and give them what they need.
Remember to work so you don’t have any regrets in your life!”
I listen intently to him because he is a man who knows what
he’s talking about. You see, his smile
is just returning after he learned a bitter lesson. His story is an important one for all of us.
A few years ago he was “living his work.” Then one morning he got up as usual and left
his home without even seeing another member of his family. He and his wife had an arrangement where she
would take their infant to day care in the morning and he would pick their
child up at the end of the day. This day
began as every one of their other days, but it didn’t end as the other ones had
ended.
Toward late afternoon he received a phone call that shook
his world. He raced to the day care
center as soon as he hung up the telephone and when he arrived, it was as if a
tsunami had wiped his life away. His baby had died!
As I looked at my friend’s bright face on this day, a flood
of memory rushed through my body and his words from the past echoed in my ears.
“I have always regretted not giving my baby a kiss before I left for work that
morning! Now I make sure I always put my
family first. I work without regret,
because I know I the reason I work is so I can spend as much time with my
family as possible!”
He has discovered the deeper meaning of his work and it has
made all the difference in his life. He
truly lives each day without regret and we can too! Take some time to discover
the deeper meaning of your work. Only
then will you be able to really live your life.
Living your life with true meaning will give significance to every
aspect of your existence. Live today.
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