An excerpt from “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway:
“Do you remember when [Dick Sisler] used to come to the terrace? I wanted to take him fishing but I was too timid to ask him. Then I asked you to ask him and you were too timid. I know. It was a great mistake. He might have gone with us. Then we would have that for all of our lives.’
I can’t count the times I let fear and timidity get the best of me. This hits all too close to heart.
This passage sprang to mind while writing an email to a friend. I did not need anything from him. I had only wanted to write to him and thank him for all that he gave me while working on a project together: hope, a new attitude, curiosity, and a stronger work ethic. I let the thought of writing to him linger for far too long…three months really. Only after finishing the email did I recognize what I could have lost had I not written to him.
While attempting to relive moments of my life through this message, all the missed opportunities were quick to surface. And it’s certainly a powerful lesson to learn in one’s youth, but focusing only on the missed opportunities doesn’t seem to do myself, or the message, justice.
I’m simply grateful that I get to have this conversation with myself each morning:
“Do you remember the days when we’d get to Chemistry lecture early and enter through the back hallway so we could get a seat in the front? There was always that girl I wanted to get to know, but I was too timid to say hello to her. Then I asked you to approach her and you did. I know. It was the greatest thing we ever did. She was amazing. And now, we have each other for all of our lives.’