Paths Not Taken [ Post # 24 ]

Ok, Yes, in a previous blog I said I do not waste my time and energy with thinking “what if… if only I had… my life could have been so different, better, etc.” But in this post I am taking a different approach to that thought of “what if?” Don’t we all think at times how we could have taken a different path than the one we took in our life, gone in a different direction, made a different choice? I’m not talking about a serious, regretful thinking of this subject, but more of a lighthearted, curious, fun imagining of how our life would have been if we chose a different path than the one we chose.

My life has turned out great, I would say perfect, so I have no regrets, just a curiosity of how it could have been if things had been just a little different. The pictures you see in this post are a few from my childhood and my college graduation. In my childhood I was a child model and I was in advertisements in the local newspapers (the Los Angeles Times, etc.) and I was on the cover of a photography magazine and in magazine advertisements. You see, my family was into this sort of thing. My siblings and my mother were in the movie business (my brother and sister are listed in the IMDb website for the movie work they did a long time ago). So we had an “in” with the Hollywood business to some degree, but for some reason we eventually got away from that work. I wonder how far I could have gone with what I was doing with my modeling work? Which is interesting now, considering how many friends I have that are “in the business,” as they say. I guess I did not have the interest or drive that my friends had in their youth. My actor friends can’t even consider not acting, it is such a part of them. I never had that kind of ambition for that type of work, I guess.

I mentioned in previous blogs what an important thing it was in my life to go to college, since many people told me to not even try as I was not that smart, etc. Well, I persisted and had a great time with my college experience. Which makes me think, what if I had pursued an academic career, had become a scholar, professor, etc.? I think it did cross my mind, even when I went on to graduate school (theological seminary). I think if I had another life to live and had to do something different than I did this time around, I might want to do that. If you ever watched the early episodes of the tv show “Madame Secretary,” I was really interested in the husband of the Secretary of State and his role as a professor of comparative religions. Yes, I think that would be a career I would want in a second life.

In my childhood and youth I wanted to be an airline pilot. Now I’m glad that did not happen as I had wished. I did become a commercial pilot and flight instructor at a local airport and that was great, but now I realize I would not want to have been just an airline pilot for all of my career. I’ve known some friends that did have that job and gave it up after a while to do other things when their interests changed. So, another time I chose the correct path for me.

There were dark ties in my life when I considered doing some very bad things. I seriously came close to messing up my life. But through some long, deep thinking, I decided against taking actions I was considering. Another ‘”turning point” where I took the right path for my life.

So, here I am now, having lived a great portion of my life. I am extremely satisfied with the choices I made, the path I did take and glad I did not take the other paths that were facing me and tempting me. I feel my life has been guided down the correct path for me. I feel it as s Divine guidance. Call it what you may, but I know I could have messed up really bad at times and I was “saved” from early destruction in my life.

I have talked a little bit about this subject with a few friends. I was really surprised what I learned by talking about this stuff. One friend, who owned her own business, said she would have liked to be an investigator for the CDC (Center for Disease Control), investigating diseases in the world. Wow, that came out of left field. My spouse said he always had a desire to be a radio personality. Wow, never expected that. Another friend said he regrets he did not give more interest and attention to some early relationship possibilities that came his way in his teens when he was discovering he was gay. He took the path of running away, basically, wondering what possibilities he may have passed up.

So, yes, it can be fun to think of the paths not chosen, possibly alternate and also good lives. It can also be redemptive and a relief, also, to realize we chose the path we chose and we avoided some wrong paths.

Wally