Jag ångrar ingenting ?

Läste häromdagen den här redogörelsen från en sjuksköterska. Lite amerikanskt-du-är-din-egen-lyckas-smed i överkant kanske. Men tänkvärt, ändå.

For many years i worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality.
I learnt never to underestimate someone´s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal… Every singel patient found their peace before they departed, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five.


I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all.
… health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it 


I wish I did n´t work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed.
… by simplifying your lifestyle, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do


I wish I´d had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feeling in order to keep peace with others.
… by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level


I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationship


I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

Med uttrycket " eftertankens kranka blekhet ",  hämtat från Shakespear och Hamlet, brukar vi mena efterklokhet. Dvs att grubblerier i efterhand avslöjar varför det ena eller andra gick snett. Men texten lär avse det motsatta (har jag precis fått lära mig). Att den kranka eftertanken gör att beslutsamhet och handlingskraft går förlorad, den bleknar.
Något att tänka på ..

så gör oss samvetet till pultroner alla
så går beslutsamhetens friska hy
i eftertankans kranka blekhet öfver
och företag av merg och eftertryck
vid denna tanke slinta ur sin bana
och mista namnet handling
(Klassisk svensk översättning av C A Hagberg)


Je ne regrette rien