‘ Dad, I’m old enough to know what I’m doing ! It’s about time you cut me some slack and let me live already ! ’, Dave shouted and punched the buttons on his phone with angst.

A week later, his old man, a healthy gentleman for his age, had collapsed on the floor, leaving a void in Dave’s life that could never be filled.

‘ I wish my last conversation with him wasn’t so harsh. If only I could have told him how much he meant to me. If only I had known…’, Dave sighed while trying hard to understand the mixture of emotions within him.

Was it the guilt of having had the worst conversation before a final goodbye, or the fact that he had missed the several opportunities to ever express his deepest emotions to his dearest father ?

This reminds me of the quote from Anne Frank’s diary

Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because Regret is stronger than Gratitude.

Is Regret really stronger than Gratitude ?

There is a white noise that has been subdued amid all the hustling to be successful, the honking through traffic and the chiming tunes of technology. This white noise is the sound of gratitude that demands your attention this very moment.

How often do you truly feel grateful about the small things ? 

When was the last time you churned out 5 minutes from your busy schedule to make that spontaneous phone call ?

Can you put that phone on silent and play a board game with your family once a week ?

You may not have enough time to backpack through Europe, but can you enjoy a Sunday brunch exchanging stories from the week ?

Appreciating the small things requires only a small portion of your time, while regret will consume the remainder of what’s left, leaving you incapable of appreciating the moments going forward.

Quit scanning your emails,
Turn on your favorite song,
Ditch the headphones,
Share it with the ones you love,
Slow down for the next few minutes,
And appreciate these few moments together with eternal gratitude !

Enjoy the much needed parenthesis amid the unending grind.

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday 🙂

Carpe Diem !

Find Balance with Utopia Life Coaching !