Recently, a delightful and engaging acquaintance of mine sent me a photo:

(Click for a much, much larger version)

Unknown to them at the time, their photo reminded me of one of my biggest regrets: Not enough time at the beach.

And, it also reminded me of Rafael Sabatini’s 1921 novel Scaramouche, about a lawyer and romantic adventurer named Andre-Louis Moreau, where Sabatini wrote:

“Regret of neglected opportunity is the worst hell that a living soul can inhabit.”

Now I’m old enough to have lots of regrets: Relationships, investments, jobs, possessions, you name it. I suspect regrets are an inevitable consequence in a world of infinite opportunities and limited time, as there will always be opportunities missed (or, perhaps as Robert Frost wrote “The road not taken.“)

Everything about her photo is great – composition, colors, the blue sky, heck even her legs on the chair - except maybe for that cup of iced coffee she got at a formerly-named “Donut” place. Her photo doesn’t inspire “jealously” on my part…it’s more like “jealous-sea”.

Perhaps once again I’ll try on my Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, beach shoes, and requisite Red Sox hat, relax with a nice cool soda in my (currently garaged) convertible, close my eyes, listen for the ocean…and, contemplate on a quote by Henry David Thoreau:

“Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.”

And, maybe, she’ll contemplate on it too, and “live afresh”.

Thanks for reading!