Can we talk?

What I Almost Was

         There's a song by Eric Church that made me stop and think about the words. It's reminiscent of Garth Brooks "Unanswered Prayers". The first verse was about a high school football star who placed all his life's dreams on playing football, the scholarship for his education, and the pro teams. Then the unexpected happened, he had a terrible injury. He was out the rest of the year, but once he recovered, he was no longer a star, so he was cut. All his dreams vanished. He was lost with no sense of direction.

         The second verse was similar. He had a good set-up, career, money, love, but he realized that was wrong, too. So now the writer is writing songs and playing music and loving his life. He's thankful that he's not what he almost was.

         How many of us can say that? What dreams did we have that didn't come true? What plans did we have that fell through or were thrown over? And are we happy about it now? Oh, it's that last question that slows us up.

         That's what it boils down to for so many of us. If everything worked out ok, then maybe we're happy; maybe we realize we had it wrong. Only if we're not happy now, do we regret what might have been. We might not mind that our high school romance didn't work out, or that broken engagement right after college, but it seems like most people never forget their dreams. Decades later they still feel the regrets, the lost hopes.

         It's a great feat to be happy with the way things turned out. I tried to think about my plans that didn't work out, and I can't say they were replaced with something better. I've learned to adjust, but I'm not with Eric Church yet. I'm not celebrating that I'm not what I almost was.