Of All Sad Words...

After I shut down last night, I couldn't get my post out of my head.

Stay with me here...

As I was growing up, my Mother read poetry to me every chance she got. At the time I thought it was dreadful, but now so many of the poems are a part of who I am, and they always bring back strong memories.

So after I logged out, and as I tried to get my brain to shut down so I could sleep, a phrase kept going through my head. I realized it was from one of my favorite poems that Mom read to me when I was younger.

The poem is Maud Muller by John Greenleaf Whittier. Over the years, I forgot the main focus of the poem - it's about missing the opportunity to live the life of your dreams with the love of your life. But I always remembered the feelings of regret and sorrow that it evoked in me.

And I never forgot the powerful message near the end. While I worked at the university, dreaming of being a freelance copywriter, the message continually lurked on the fringe of every thought I had.

Last night, after writing about how I had put myself on the path of "no regrets" I realized how powerful the message is...

God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"

Motivation, Inspiration, Copywriting