I was sitting alone when I started conversing with a fish. He shared his observations about how humans often fail to fully appreciate life, living it without truly experiencing it. Then, he posed a thought-provoking question to me:
“If you had the opportunity to travel back in time five years, and all the knowledge and experiences you’ve accumulated up until this point, would you choose to go back?”
Initially, the question seemed straightforward, and I responded, “Of course, I’d be able to retain all my memories.” To which he replied, “Yes.”
Even easier I thought to myself, I could travel back and recreate my entire life up to this point, simply getting richer in the process. But then he asked, “If you know when that person will call you, how that relationship will end, what friendships will end and why, you even know how this conversation ends even before it even begins, then are you truly living?” But seriously, what would you do? Not make the same errors, tell that specific person what you never told them before, that would take you down different roads and different errors.
I thought about it better and realized he was right. It was a waste of time, but then I asked, “What if it was without the memories?” To which he simply replied, “Those five years can start now.”