Things I Wish I Didn't Know Now

Inspired by Bob Seger, "Against the Wind." "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." That's a deeply poignant line.

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1. Nothing lasts forever, including relationships.

The whole lyric at that point is: "And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."

It's a basic insight of Buddhist thought, of course, that nothing is permanent. That includes relationships. Every single one will end somehow, either through dissolution or death. Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is not so much sad as, once again, poignant. Realizing this makes each relationship, however brief, more meaningful.

2. If you think college is hard, just wait for life.

3. You will regret not repairing relationships.

For a variety of reasons, if you don't consciously repair broken relationships you will lose the opportunity. See #1.

4. No matter how good you are at your job, you may always feel like a fraud.

Yes, I know about imposter syndrome. Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you, and just because there is such a thing as imposter syndrome doesn't assuage the possibility that I really am a fraud.

5. When you get older, you find that the kind of pain that once would have sent you to the hospital can become just the everyday norm, and you don't notice it so much.

6. The urge to demonize those not of your tribe can overcome any rational process you might otherwise be capable of.

7. You are not guaranteed to outlive your children.

8. Just because you've had a passion for over 50 years doesn't necessarily mean you will keep it for an entire lifetime.

9. Those plans for vacationing on the moon for your 45th birthday after watching the moon landing when you were a kid? Yeah, that's not going to happen.

Donn King