You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. - Mae West

I want to live with as few regrets as possible. Once one reaches a certain age, regrets are inevitable, I think. But my goal, from here forward…. is about living consciously. Choosing my path consciously.

There are many times I have felt swept along by the frenzy of life…. Just hanging on by my fingernails in the whirlwind of what others wanted, needed, required. There always have been and will be others who need us to be something we were not created to be. The trick is to gracefully hold fast to your true self. Choose consciously.

Each decision sets us on a path. It has always been fascinating to me to reflect on “the road not taken” (Robert Frost). Not just for me but for friends, family, even strangers. If we knew how we create our destiny with each choice we would probably be immobilized.

I have a friend that chose to go and study Shakespearean acting in London instead of taking a high-profile, high paying job in her previously chosen field. She probably would have been happy either way, but now she literally glows with happiness.

My mother often said she was not meant to be a parent. This was, I think she meant, not her natural inclination. In spite of that, she fiercely became the most devoted, nurturing, loving and unselfish parent I have ever known. It was just my good fortune to be her daughter. But I was also always aware of her deep longing for another kind of life. An artistic life. One unfettered by convention and rules.

I have absolutely no regrets about becoming a parent. It’s true that it shaped my life. But I chose it consciously. I was never the incredible multi-tasking, drive-carpool, fix dinner, help-with-homework, do laundry, do bills and sit-at-the-kitchen-table-and-write-a-bestseller kind of writer. I did all of that but the writing. I focused on my children. I have no regrets about that. What is hard is to shift the focus now that it’s not needed.

Time for me. Time to show up. Time to write.