Crossroads: How often do you wonder about things that never were? [View All]

[BlueIris]

Things as in potential futures that didn't come to pass. And I mean wonder, not fixate.

There are two great crossroads I think about sometimes, one political and one personal. The year 2000 was a great crossroads for our nation. I think it's clear that some of us (ahem, neoconservatives) took the wrong path. From time to time, I think about the terrific future that could have been ours collectively through the presidency of Al Gore--it's a painful imagining, but I do it anyway. The other "crossing" is more personal: my 24th year. I was in a serious car accident, and then...well, let's just say that if I hadn't started cleaning up my life, I don't think I would have had one that much longer.

Curiously, I was playing around with my pendulum the other night, and asked it when my last big crossroads was. I expected it to land on 2003, the year of the accident. Instead, it landed on 2008. I find this odd, as I didn't really consider that a year of big, decisive choices--for me, anyway. I feel as if I am generally where I am supposed to be right now, but I can't help but wonder (a little)--what great (or terrible) future might have passed me by in '08? What did I miss out on, or manage to avoid?

Feel free to share you own stories, of course.