Regret Or Gratitude?

7 Jan

“Dead people receive more flowers than living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude.”  ~ Anne Frank

I cannot begin to stress how true this quote is.  I have seen it at play for my almost forty years as a priest.  At the time of death, many feelings are brought to the fore.  Guilt, anger, and regret come to  play at some wakes and funerals.  Family members may be pitted against one another because their negative feelings have been buried for many years.  These wakes and funerals are very stressful on families as well as on the friends who come out in an attempt to support them.

It is entirely different for the families that have no regrets over the years.  They gather together to say farewell to their loved one and support one another throughout the grieving process.  These wakes and funerals are a joy because everyone celebrates their memories of the deceased through the eyes of faith as well as of good, healthy memories.

It is so very important to live our lives appropriately.  If we live in gratitude — to one another and to God — we will be able to meet the world head-on day by day and, at the end of our days, we will have no regrets.  Who wants to live with regret anyway?  It take too much emotional energy.  It diminishes us.  It makes us less than we are supposed to be.

If we live our lives in gratitude, it builds us up and makes us more the kind of people God calls us to be.  Live in gratitude today.

FAITH ACTION:  Don’t be afraid to express your gratitude to God and to others as you go about your life today.