Regret Is Coming for You
The only defense is being present
Regret is the bastard behind me in line, trying to shove their way up front. They spear their elbows into my back, pull on my shirt, and spit curses in my ear. Damn guy never gives up.
Regret is one of the biggest disruptors of inner peace. It’s the past on a path of vengeance, intent on destroying who we are today.
It’ll find you and slap the pancakes out of your mouth before you even have a chance to enjoy them. But even if you get a few bites, you’ll feel guilty afterward. Like that bit of joy you just experienced was undeserved, stolen.
What regret loves most is a spotlight. It adores itself and wants nothing more than your attention. Now, ego wears many masks, but when it wears “regret”, it’s especially sharp.
Maybe in your past you did something pretty awful, or didn’t do enough of something you should have. Whatever happened, happened. It’s true. Can’t change it. But, we change. Time forces us to grow, whether or not we like it.
Regret, as deserved as it seems, is us clinging to the past and how we were back then. It’s a special weird hell we give ourselves. For me, it feels like a sort of self-lashing.
If you feel the same, then drop the leather whip and pick up something you enjoy that brings you out of the past because regret can’t exist in the present.
When we live in the now, then that cruel voice of regret fades away like a radio lowering in volume until finally, click. It’s off.
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Thank you for reading.
So true. We can't change the past, so regret is pointless. I do think of the past and sometimes think I'm lucky to still be here, but the good memories sustain me.
Great description. Regret is always poking me from behind.