I wish I had... but didn't. So, the time to start is now.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.  The second best time is now. (Chinese proverb)

I was looking at that Chinese proverb, and thinking about how it could apply to so much of our lives. It might be 20 days, or 20 years, but it's all lost time. For instance, one could say, “I wish I’d started publishing my novels 20 years ago, but I didn’t, so I’m going to start now.”

Think of all the other statements that could be said:

 -      - “I wish I’d started learning to swim, or golf, or learn Azeri, or learn Tae Kwon Do, or travel, or go to the library, or read more books 20 years ago, but I didn’t. So, I’m going to start now.”

-   “I wish I’d started to save and spend my money better 20 years ago, but I didn’t. So, I’m going to start now.”

-  “I should have started to tell my son how proud I've been of his accomplishments at school. But I haven’t, so I’m going to start now.”

-  “I should have attended more of my daughter’s ballet recitals when she first got started. But, I didn’t, so I’m going to start now.”

-  “I wish I’d said more times how much I love and appreciate my father or mother or brother or sister or grandparent, and I didn’t, so I’d better get started now.”

What you don’t want to say is:

-  “I wish I’d told my father or mother, or my grandpa or grandma, or my uncle or aunt, or my brother or my sister, or my son or my daughter, or husband or wife how much I love them, but now it’s too late.”

So, whether it's one year or 20 years, perhaps the message here is that we should not put off until tomorrow what we can or should do today. Because, just perhaps, tomorrow will be too late.

Wil