What-if analysis of the past usually comes to mind out of dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.
It is always disastrous, so I avoid it if I can.
But sometimes I cannot.
and then, relative. What if becomes if only.
Ahh, yes. I keep forgetting that little unfortunate detail.
Excellent topic, soserene! And an issue that I have often thought about. I tend to agree with those who say that events happen that we later try to make sense of. At the same time, we do also make decisions and these have intended (and unintended) consequences.
Philip Larkin wrote a wonderful poem about the pattern we see in our lives, only, he says, we only finally see it at the moment must before we die. Whether or not that's true, it's an interesting way to think about it...
Yes, D'art. Perhaps that's what country folks meant by the "lightening" before death. I'm not certain that I spelled it correctly, but it has nothing to do with the forked kind, but more to do with a sudden realization.
Amy Lowell wrote a poem called "Patterns", I need to check it out.
It sounds very mystical, Letty. This is suggested by the terms, sudden realization and patterns.
JL, perhaps more mythical than mystical, but don't we just love the idea of levitation? It's Blatty's fault.
Goodnight from the land of the sky blue water with a wee bit of oil slick.
