Perspectives: Regret and Hope, Do They Belong On the Same Page?
Where Does Regret Belong in Life?
I have toiled over this month’s topic (so what else is new, right?). How on earth can regret and hope be immersed into one perspective? After all, they are opposites of each other! Do I exempt myself from this month’s contribution? No and hell no! I need to look deeper into the correlation between the two, invoke my soul’s voice to see and to speak. And that I did. Whew! I really didn’t want to let my team down. More importantly, I didn’t want to let myself down! I knew I could count on myself. I just needed to find a way into the theme and that I did.
According to my trusted Uncle Random, regret is “to feel sorrow or remorse for; to think of with a sense of loss”. So let’s talk about regret first.
There are many things we humans have done in our lives and choices we’ve made that we subsequently learned were bad choices. I know I have – many times! But do they result in regret? If my bad choices affected someone else’s life, you better damned well know I regretted that choice. But if my bad choices only affect me, do I regret? No, I don’t. This may sound cold to you, but realizing you’ve made bad choices in your life leads to growth and re-directing your thoughts in order to do better. I don’t regret any of my bad choices, with the exception of one. This hub is not about that, so there’s no need to go into it. My point is, as long as you learn from your bad or misdirected choices and don’t hurt anyone in the process, there should be no room for regret in your life!
By the same token, if you don’t learn from your mistakes and you keep on the path of destruction, your life will be synonymous with regret. And that equates to unhappiness, lack of drive, lack of self-confidence and lack of happiness. What do I mean by this statement? It’s really quite simple. If you choose to live a life of regret and bring your soul to ground level, you will never achieve your goals. Life is a journey. That journey is full of trials and tribulations. Those trials and tribs are stepping stones to learning who you are and what you want out of life. Turn the negatives into positives! Cry and piss and moan ‘oh, woe is me’ or get up off your ass and make changes! Make changes to the way of living that has led to regret! You have the power; it’s in your hands. Yours and yours alone!
What Does Regret Beget? Where is the Hope?
There is hope for a good life, there really is. You have to love yourself and believe in yourself. This is the perfect segue to Uncle Random’s definition of hope: “the feeling that what is desired is also possible, or that events may turn out for the best”.
Read again the last part of the definition: “... or that events may turn out for the best”. That, my friends, is why regret and hope belong on the same page.
You see, regret begets hope. Once you have lived regret for something you have done or an action you have taken, there is hope that you will learn from the experience, correct the behavior and move on to do better in your life. Never give up on hope. Hope is the driving force to being a better you. It is the driving force to making a better world because of all the people in the world who better themselves. Hope is where dreams are made. Hope is where life is full of rainbows and sunshine, rather than the clouds and destruction of regret. Hope is:
How
One's
Persona
Evolves
Do regret and hope belong on the same page? Absolutely! Regret is a lesson that opens the door to hope. Is your door open?
Something From My Heart
Rather than leave you with a song - someone else's words - I leave you with a poem I wrote when trying to come up with my take on this month's topic. I originally was going to post this poem and nothing else, but once I got my thoughts on paper my mind opened up. Poetry is a form of expression for me and has always, always been my release. Perhaps I should have chosen to post this at the beginning of my perspective on regret and hope, but I was afraid you wouldn't read down to the thoughts that this poem invoked.
I hope you enjoy. More importantly, I hope these words give you food for thought.
Regret and Hope
Regret & Hope
Seem an unlikely pair.
One holds Promise
The other, Despair.
While Hope
Embodies compassion and trust,
Regret can still teach a lesson:
Re-direct and go with your passion.
It’s a Must.
Mistakes we all make;
Some may end in regret.
To learn and move on
Is the lesson we must get.
Life at times may seem
dimmer,
When all it contains is regret.
Look beyond to discover
that each regret
Holds a glimmer
of Hope
for life’s re-set.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2013 Shauna L Bowling