Seems to me that when I meet someone new that I like I think it would have been nice to meet them before now..but I was a lot different when I was younger and probably would not have been attracted to him then...not to mention if I met him before my life could have been worse instead of better...then of course the beginning of most new relationships can be so wonderful...the excitement of meeting eachother...discovering all you have in common...you can't stop thinking about them and the time you've shared and are anxious to see them again...my dad used to call it the wedding bliss...the first six months so new and fresh...then more time goes by and then you start seeing the faults...whoops I'm rambling...lol...really I have to go with I wouldn't be who I am today without my past relationships...and I love me to bits now..can't change the past but you can make your future...just live for the moment and love the dreams...

so I'm gathering it boils down to..

.. would have ,could have .should have... so I suppose this time around.
. perhaps I should look for the full meal deal... rather than the value meal....hmm.. I notice we refer to food a lot in these topics... maybe we're all a bunch of .. foodies....

..lol... great now I'm thinking of French toast...

...lol...I'm always reflecting on what my dad said...would have, should have, could have and what if don't exist...only here and now...and maybe tomorrow...so love the moment...and learn from your past...tee hee..I loved my parents..glad they found eachother and had me

including myself!!!.. I am sure there are a lot of people, that are happy your parents had you..

Not so much think that way about partners I've had, sometimes about decisions we made at the time ..
I spose these ponderings touch upon what is important for you at this mo in time.. I know it does for me. And for me that's being in this chit country, lol. It's not really a chit country, still one of the best health & wellfare provisions etc. etc.
But I never felt I belonged here, still don't.

So I sometimes find myself thinking: What if I HAD married Andy when he asked me? The I'd be living in the Blue Mountains. What would my life have been like now?

What if my ex and I had had the guts to pack up shop and move to Australia? (yes, I got a thing with Oz, the country stole my heart, ain't ever gonna go away no more. And my ex had family there).

What if I had had the guts to move to the UK after my divorce?

Or: What if I had had a bit more patience and waited with getting pregnant a couple of years. I would've finished my study (was pretty high up), instead I screwed it up because I was pregnant and could care less, lol.

So different choice of partners isn't all that important to me. I'm very happy with what I've had, even though the last one was a shite relationship, lots of abuse. But it made me who I am today, which is the best I've ever been

... geez...thanks...now on the other hand...my great grand parents...I could kick their butts...moved from Canada to the states...grrrr...they should have stayed there...if they would have.. I could have met an awesome Canadian gentlemen like you... ...but what if they did...hmmm....would I even exist....oh my...tee hee

Regardless of "thinking".....When you know, you know.

Run with it!

Every day we are alive is a reflection
of the choices we have made.

We picked and chose, then.
We pick and choose, now.

Whatever we chose today will be
reflected in our tomorrows.

(For CrystalFairy: A woman was asked why she never married.
She said, "Because the last time a man asked me to marry him,
I did not know it was the last one who would.")

What a nice post!

And keep moving forward! Limitless possibilities will always be there

I stopped asking "what if" a long time ago.
And not just about a partner.
"What is" and "what can be" are what matters.

There is a theory that you get who you deserve at that point in time.That the person is your choice but that you need to learn some lesson or lessons from being with that person. Living is all about Learning - so like the dark makes us appreciate the light, when you can see what NOT to seek in your next partner I guess you have to thank the ex --

what if......
what if people didn't choose that partner...
those who are parents might not have the children they love

those who learned and grew from it might not know how to appreciate the beauty in life.

what if, woulda, coulda, shoulda usually only imagines how things might have worked out better. there's always the possibility that a different path could bring disastrously negative results from which we have been spared.

the reality for each of us is every choice formed what we are today. we can't change the past. we can only move forward taking with us what we learn as we live

I agree but only in so much as people quit living in the past and look forward to a different future. The dilemma lies if those people think they have moved forward but never try to establish better relationships or shut themselves down for whatever reason! Many do but will never admit to it!

The woman from my longest relationship and I remain great friends to this day.

But, "if" I had met the right woman, I'd still be with her.

...I'm not one for what if's either...Every relationship I had was what I wanted at that time....

every partner is the right partner.

all occurrences are leading all and each through the maze of earth to ascension.

Absolutely!!

Agree! :)

I usually think more like,it was never meant to be or,that's the way it was meant to be,sometimes I think of what if ,but rarely,I programmed my self a long time ago to think that way,and now ,it's almost easily done as said!!!