Sadly, everything is born and dies. There is a beginning and an end. Life is long until it’s not. It is at the end when we have regrets.
What regrets do most Outdoorsmen have in common?
- They wish they had not focused so much on work and more on hunting and fishing. Many had bosses or responsibilities that kept them busy. The bosses were usually not sportsmen and had no understanding of the joy and pleasure that outdoor recreation brings.
- Losing touch with great friends was a huge regret. Life has a way of making everyone busy. The special friends that were with us for our first fish, deer, or campout seem to travel different paths. Our responsibility to family overwhelms time with friends.
- Finishing a Bucket List was also a regret. Many sportsmen still had places that they wanted to explore, species to hunt or catch, and places to see. Health issues overpowered the desire to do more, so they had to settle for less.
- Spending more time choosing to be happy and just having fun were expressed. True wealth is about experience not dollars. Sadly, the money part exceeds the Funny part.
- Sunrises and Sunsets were wasted. Sleeping in or being too busy kept us distracted from these celebratory beginnings and ends.
Going through our lives is hard. The more we know, the more we want to know. When we were young, we were bulletproof and fearless. No river was too fast or wide. No mountain was too far or too high. We tackled life’s challenges and were ready for more. What did not kill us made us stronger.
When I bought my annual Sportsman License, life’s limitations were in my mind. Can I still hunt elk, drag a buck, row a drifter, hike to the top of a mountain, swim across a river, or excel as I once did?
As we age, we find ways to adjust and adapt but not always by choice. A walking stick keeps us upright, a wheeler replaces our legs, learning to shoot further makes up for us not stalking closer, sporting smarter, not harder is required.
Near the end, our hearts are ready to go but our bodies just laugh at us. Everyone has regrets. What we all must do is leave behind a legacy of staying on the hunt and taking one more cast!
Always be your BEST!
Montana Grant
