My Regret from 1991 and What You Should Say Yes to
I’ve got a regret from 1991 that haunted me today.
1991 was the year my house burned to the ground in the Oakland/Berkeley hills. Mine was one of more than 3,000 homes that were destroyed. I lost everything except my Toyota Corolla, which I’d been driving that day.
I don’t regret the fire or the subsequent homelessness. The loss actually propelled me to move to New York City. (Not immediately, but after the trauma subsided.)
What I regret is that I didn’t say YES when an editor asked me to write about my fire story for her book: Fire in the Hills: A Collective Remembrance.
I could’ve been a published author at 23, if I’d said yes.I didn’t say YES because I didn’t feel “ready.” I was too young. I didn’t write well enough. I was too sad. My story wasn’t as dramatic as other people’s. My story wasn’t “enough.”
All kinds of reasons swirled in my head convincing me I wasn’t enough.So I didn’t contribute anything.
And now I regret that.
Finding the book on my shelf today reminded me of that. I found it as I was clearing my bookshelves of things I don’t need in this chapter of my life…Like books for parenting toddlers. Lesson plans from teaching 6th grade. Leaves pressed between pages from an autumn on the east coast.
I am keeping Fire in the Hills on the bookshelf. It’s a reminder of what happens in California almost every October. Fires rage. Homes are lost. People need help.
And personally, it’s a reminder to say YES to opportunities to grow.
It’s a reminder to start before you’re ready. And that you are enough.How many times do you feel, “I’m not ready. I’m too old or too young. I’m not qualified to do this. There’s someone better.” ?!
I know I’ve felt it. Often, lately. But at this stage of life, it’s not going to stop me from doing the things I want to do. Life’s too short and unpredictable. Homes burn. Lives are lost.
Eleanor Roosevelt said,
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
So I’m here to remind you of your COURAGE. Say yes to opportunities to grow. To publish another article. To tell someone how you feel. To do the thing you think you cannot do. Say YES to what matters to you.
There are only 10 weeks left in this decade.
10 weeks is enough time to say YES to a project that’s calling you. To say YES to something that scares you.Say YES if it means you will grow.
Let’s end this decade with no regrets. Mistakes, sure. But no regrets.
PS I’d love to know one thing you’d like to do or create before the decade ends. Leave a comment.
(Me? I’d like to host a workshop in Mammoth.)
