Hindsight 20/20

Let me preface this blog with some background... I am a social worker. I am presently working with families who's children have been taken out of their home usually for child protection reasons. By the time I come into the picture, the family is getting ready for reunification, which means the kids are coming home. I help the parents in getting ready to make sure that they feel that they can be successful. So as I meet with these different families I hear all sorts of interesting stories...as you can imagine.
So yesterday (also let me say that last year I was in two car wrecks which really played a number on my neck so I am currently going to the Chiropractor to get it fixed) I was laying on my rolled up towel as prescribed by my chiropractor to help with my neck issues and also my headaches. When I do this nice little exercise the issue is such that I have to lay STILL for like 20 min. For most adults you wouldn't think of that as being a real big issue... however for me it is. I get bored and start thinking of all the things that I should or could be doing but that I am not. Anyways occasionally I think ok, I have to do this so I might make the most out of it which I did yesterday. I was thinking about a client of mine who decided to mix prescription drugs with alcohol because she was struggling with where her life was heading. We were discussing this along with all the other issues her choice brought on and how life now is a lot more difficult than it was before but she has learned a lot and she is getting a lot of assistance from different resources. She however stated that had she known what was going to come of this choice she would have chosen not to do it. I stated to think about choices in my personal life and realizing that had I made certain choices or chosen different choices, life would be a lot more difficult or easier (respectively) now than it is. On the flip side, had I not made the choices I have made in life or been faced with the challenges that I have had to overcome I wouldn't be the person that I have become.
So I guess what I am saying in short is that when it comes down to doing something not so smart when all is said and done, it isn't worth it. Dealing with the repercussions of the choice often make the experience not not quite as enjoyable as you once thought that it would be. But of course we don't often learn as much as we could from others experiences and sometimes have to go through some of the same experiences to learn the lesson for ourselves. If you find yourself learning a lesson that you wish you weren't having to learn, remember that it it will make you a better person and more than likely you'll better understand when someone else is learning a similar lesson.