Pushing Away From The Inevitable

I’m traveling back to the Middle East again soon. I’ve been doing this now for over a year and my biggest regret is that I haven’t made more of an effort to learn Arabic. When I first arrived I was keen on hiring a local teacher to assist me a couple of times a week, but I was quickly overcome by other events and it never panned out. I cringe now when I think where I would be if I had pursued Arabic as I had originally planned.

The lesson for me has been not to put things off until I have time, and then never get around to them. Do it now because life is passing by and isn’t about to wait. I’ve been very aggressive about pursuing those things that interest me; being a good father, a good husband, a fair bagpipe player, a better than average athlete, a fledgling photographer, a competent medic, and the list goes on. There isn’t enough time for it all in a single day, but little by little I chip away, and improve.

I look at my 10 year-old son, Connor, just learning to play the bagpipes. In a few years he’s going to leave me in rolling in the dust with young, nimble fingers and lightning fast birls. I don’t stand a chance; I know that. Until then though, I’ll continue to work hard on all of those things, pushing the inevitable away just one day at a time.