The Texts We Never Sent, The Phone Calls We Never Made

We will always regret the things we didn't do and chances we never took

The title of this article came to me as I was going back home from work. I enjoy my ride home from the office during the night mostly 2100hrs just to avoid the traffic jams of the big city. So, I usually get a seat in the daladala and most of the time it is a seat by the window.

With earphones in my ears, I am either listening to a country song or watching a movie that I haven’t finished watching in like four days and if it is not that then I am watching Masterclass on my phone.

Some nights I get distracted, pause the Masterclass and observe what is happening outside the window. It’s the siren of the ambulance that will always catch my attention.

I can't help but think that there is someone out there catching their last breath fighting for their life. I can't stop to think about it even when it is long gone and the siren is no more. So, I think to myself that maybe there is someone out there trying to say their last words but they can't.

This scenario usually takes me away. It reminds me of something that most of us take for granted, our time here on earth.

Our time is super limited and it is never guaranteed how long we will be walking God’s green earth. So, we let things slide, we care less until we no longer have the strength to do what we should have done five or ten years ago.

Death is usually a reminder of how short our lives are but it's sad how this information gets stored in the short-term memory and we forget as soon as the person is six feet under. We go back to our daily routines and the norms that we have created for ourselves.

Why not finish everything today before we go to bed? Why should we keep something until tomorrow when we know nothing about it? Sometimes forgiveness is just one text away and I am sorry could be a phone call away.

Someone once told me that there is no hate when there is nothing to be hated and the same goes for love. If you cant forget then at least forgive, it will set your heart free and if you cant humble yourself to say that you are sorry then at least learn how not to hurt more people.

You cant love or hate a dead person, that is wasted energy. If you love someone and you are playing hard to get just because you think they will use that against you then you have already lost. We let our past ruin our present thinking that we are building a better future.

When thinking about the times that I could have made a call and failed those times that I should have texted back, but my ego got the best of me, I feel nothing but regret.

Regret is not a good thing to have in life, it brings you questions you can no longer answer and you will say bad words to yourself when all that you had to do was call back and say your peace.

One thing I know for sure is that if there is another life after this, then most of us will start it by making peace with everyone because I understand that by now we know how heavy that load is.

Maybe next time I hear the siren of an ambulance, my heart will not be as heavy because I won't let a text slide or a phone call go unanswered.