Charles Krauthammer died yesterday of cancer. He was a Pulitzer Prize winning writer and commentator. He was a thoughtful man with a definitive point of view.
He was regarded an inspiration by many because he suffered a diving accident during the time he was in med school. The accident left him paralyzed from the neck down and in a wheelchair for life. Despite this tragedy, he gathered himself to finish med school and fashioned a life that made a difference in the world.
When it became apparent that he would not survive his bout with cancer, he wrote a letter to the public announcing he had only weeks to live. He concluded the letter with this quote.
“I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.”
“Lived the life that I intended” caught my eye. When you live the life you intended, you make choices. You live with the consequences of those choices. You don’t harbor regret.
