and this thing, oh, it is strange

A long time ago, someone I admired said, “No compromises, no regrets.” And throughout my life, I’ve seen this adage come to life in the most negative manner.

I always see it backwards. It’s like, I’m on a bicycle and I’m riding, I’m riding, and I see it coming. But I’m focusing on how good it feels to have the wind in my face, my hair floating behind me, freedom at my fingertips, I know it’s there, the warning I should heed, and I pass right by it, only to crash into a brick wall. Compromising never has a good ending.
And yet, I still do it. I still say the words I shouldn’t, read what I shouldn’t thinking what I shouldn’t, do what I shouldn’t. Time and time again, it gets me into trouble. It’s inevitable, but nonetheless, I pay attention.

Pride.
That’s what it is.

And I see it in the lives of others too. Do they not realize the compromises they make will affect others? Do they not see it could change their lives, turn them upside down, and toss their dreams out the window? Are we so foolishly ignorant?

Perhaps we are.

No compromises, no regrets.