George Gray

George Gray

"George Gray" is a poem about a man who missed out on many of life's opportunities because he was so afraid of failure that he did not even try. He passed up love because he was afraid of being hurt, ambition because he dreaded all the changes that came with it and sorrow because he feared the pain. The poem begins with "George" staring at his own gravestone and realizing that there was nothing special to be said about him because he had done nothing with his life. He looked back on his life and realized that it would be so much harder then to regain all of his missed opportunities. The whole poem was a metaphor using a boat to represent "George's" life and at the end, he let the boat sail freely and be guided by the winds of destiny. He regretted all of the opportunities that he had missed and by the time he realized that he never lived his life, it was too late to live it to its fullest. Therefore, life should be lived to its fullest so that when it is over, there are no regrets.

So many people have ideas of things they want to do, whether they be business-related, something that scares them or even just asking someone else out on a date. Everyone has ideas about how they want to live their lives, but most people never wind up following through. They are so afraid of failure or of looking bad that they run from any kind of challenge. Then later in life, when they realize that they had all these opportunities and never took advantage of them, they regret it so much. A lot of people choose the easy way out in order to avoid challenges and barely ever choose to take the road less traveled just to see where it could take them. That is a risk that few people take because they never want the responsibility of having to work for something. Life can only be lived by those who work hard for their achievements and follow through on their ideas and goals. It is the people who never work for anything that are unhappy with what they see when they look back at their lives because they have achieved nothing to be proud of. Just the fact that they tried to better themselves by living more provides a sense of fulfillment. All people have fears, whether they like to admit it or not. Their goal should be to get over those fears, whether they are of heights, swimming, speaking in front of large crowds or even something more minor. Getting over the most basic fears can mean so much to people and push them further until they have accomplished a lot of things that they want to get done. For example, someone who is afraid of heights should pick something (like bungee jumping) that has to do with heights and try it just to prove to himself that he has the ability to do anything that he allows himself to do. Sure, what he does might scare him, but how else can he ever expect to get over his fear? Another example, if a man wanted to ask a woman out on a date, he should ask her instead of sitting around and waiting for the love of his life to fall into his lap. Everything a person does involves taking risks. Only two things can happen when one person asks another person out. The other person can say either "yes", or "no". Even if he or she did say "no", that would be so much better than sitting around twiddling thumbs and wondering if the person may like them too. The only way to find out is to ask. Asking involves putting an ego at risk. Even the fact that he asked would make him feel so much better than if he never had the guts to.

In the world there are two types of people, those who have lived their lives fully, and those who have lived knowing that they could have done so much more with themselves. Those who have fully lived their lives may not have always succeeded but they tried and that in itself is a great feeling. Those who sit back and watch life pass them by never feel fulfilled and always regret their decision not to act on opportunities that arise. They never know whether or not they could do anything because they never got up the guts to try. It is a shame that some people spend their lives watching others have success and pitying themselves when they could be out living their own lives.

Life should be lived to its fullest so that in the end there are no regrets. More people should follow through on their ideas and take advantage of opportunities that come along so that they never have to end up like "George Gray" did, wishing he had done something with his life before it was too late. Everyone should pick small things that they are afraid of and one by one get over their fears. The feeling that comes from that is so fulfilling. No one should be the type of person who sits around avoiding all challenges and risks because they are afraid of the outcome. All that will happen is that they will end up regretting how they spent their lives. So many people have the ability to do great things with themselves, but they never give themselves the chance to shine. It is a shame that there are people who lack that confidence in themselves. Life is meant to be lived. People should seize the day and live life to its fullest.