You only live once

Many years ago I met a beautiful lady, she was 98 and had an amazing life story. When she was 20, she lived in New Zealand and was engaged to a man. Her family moved to Australia for business and she was torn apart from him. They wrote letters for many years, but this was before planes and before it was easy to travel back and forward. My friend told me she was still angry with her parents for not letting her marry him. She had an 80 year regret and cried even at 98 about this sad outcome. She married someone else and had a family, but still loved this man. When I met her and heard her story, I thought life is too short to have regrets like this. I think it was a different time. At 98, this lady longed for a love she was denied. I often think about what would have happened if she had been allowed to fulfill her dreams of perfect love. Would he have been as perfect as she imagined? We will never know. Besides being sad, I think this story is a strong recommendation to not have 'what ifs?' or regrets and to simply follow your heart. You only live once and you may love many times, but make sure you live and love fully.