I recently found an old stack of Christmas cards in our basement.  There they were: signed, sealed, and ready to be delivered. The names of our friends and family were on the envelopes, but in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season we forgot to mail them out.  They had been in the basement for over two years and never reached their intended destination.  One of the cards was addressed to a lady who recently passed away.  She passed without ever receiving that card.  Obviously her life was not drastically changed because we failed to mail out a cheap Christmas card, but seeing her name on that red envelope caused me to think about missed opportunities.

     Oftentimes our intentions are good, but our follow-through needs work.  The truth is no one ever sees our intention.  No one sees an old dusty box in a basement full of Christmas cards.  Intention has no value unless action is involved. Bill Hull said it like this, “Action is less vague than intention; it begins with intention but it is unknown to others without the act.”

     Regret is the consequence of failed intentions.  Don’t stock-pile your intentions down in a dusty basement with the hopes that others know you care.  If need be, hand-deliver your intention to its final destination and see to it that your card is opened before another season passes.