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Emphatically, no, this is not possible. Life is so full of choices and we are mere humans, unable to always choose the right path. Like autumn leaves, that path is littered with fluttering and fallen "what if's?" and "if only's." One of the most beautiful songs I ever heard was Edith Piaf's "No Regrets," but then she was a brave and tragic person. I admire her strength, but I cannot hope to match it, or her philosophy.

Every so often, there comes a gut-wrenching, tear-inducing, overwhelming wave of regret for certain things I have done, or more likely, left undone. Then, I realize, it is all too late. For example, I never told my father how much I loved him, what a funny, kind, generous spirit he had. Too wrapped up in my youthful bids for freedom, I left it all too late. So when he died and I was just 20 years old, there was so much I should have told him, but did not. I keep hold of the hope that he knew, deep down, what I felt about him, without my saying the words. But if only I had taken the time to speak them out loud, how it would have pleased him, how much better I would have been, as his only child.

You would think that regrets like that would teach a valuable lesson. You would agree with Garth Brooks and "If Tomorrow Never Comes." But somehow, life gets in the way of saying, doing, being what you should, and so, more regrets build up along the way. No good saying "I wish," because deep inside, I know that I could have made some of the wishes reality, if only I had taken the time.

How many times in life do we feel we must give our job the highest priority? We juggle and wriggle, and maybe even put our family second place, to meet that special deadline, to support colleagues, and so on. My biggest regret in that area, is that I did not stay when my beloved sister in law was dying. I never believed she was really going, I thought I would see her again. So I travelled home; she died the next day and I was not with her. She was my best friend, the sister I never had, and I left her to go back to work. Thinking often of what I did, brings tears, guilt and regret. But I learned for sure from that experience; never, ever again did I put work before my family.

There are many more instances where I believe I set off down the wrong path, only to find myself wishing I had chosen otherwise. Only to wish I had given more thought to my decisions, to look not at the end result or MY goal, but at the outcomes and people who would be affected by my actions.

No, it is not possible to live without regrets. We are all different, and however much we try to weigh up everything, or what our motives are, we sometimes just get it wrong. We cannot always read the signs, nor can we know the future. We just must do the best we can. When our best becomes another's worst, then we know we got it wrong, and one more regret becomes a life experience. Hopefully, it also becomes a learning experience. I keep trying, learning, hoping. That is life, full of choices, full of regrets, and full of hope. But one day, maybe, with a good heart and strong mind, I will get it right.

Learn more about this author, Dolores Moore.
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