by Leigh Goodwin

Created on: June 02, 2010

Is it possible to live without regrets?

Although I apologize today with sincerity, my answer is based on days of depression, delayed maturity and a temporary poor design for living my own life at one point. Lucky for me, today, I apologize without expectation from others when I have made a mistake and I do regret it.

Someone once quoted that "to live without regrets is to not have really lived at all". Part of me believes this statement and part does not. My understanding is that this statement speaks both to learning from lessons and not dwelling on mistakes- I am guilty of not doing the former and of doing the latter. Before adulthood I did not understand that learning from the mistakes of others can also be valuable and that to do otherwise like make a ton of idiotic decisions can be a waste of time, a waste of life and a waste of other resources.

So, I have heard two sides of the 'to regret or not to regret' coin. Some people think its possible to live without regrets while others say no way. I suppose I could live without regrets but not without the consequences of may actions.

If I have done something to hurt someone like call them a racial slur or an instance where I failed to disclose otherwise public information from a 1991 life incident and I fail to resolve these issues I doubt that I would be able to live without any regret.

On the other hand, if I hurt someone unknowingly or indirectly then I could probably live without regrets- but then some people might hate my guts and I might be able to live with this BUT only if I admit my mistake and don't do it again. If I don't do this can I live with the consequences? Maybe. However, I might engage in other outlets if living with myself is difficult and my relationships with others might be terribly imbalanced.

As a result, today, I forgive all people who might do to me what I find offensive especially when I set the ball in motion. So, if I hurt anyone group, person or race today I apologize.

If I did it last week I apologize. Right now, I wish you the best.

To say that one could live without regrets could be a subjective ideal I suppose for mature people who employ good reason, and logic in making decisions. these kind of people do not create or manufacture reasons to regret anything. It could also be that a person is skilled at learning to prioritize the benefits and what they learned from their mistakes in a way that allows them to move on or they simply live by the belief that nothing happen's in GOD's world mistake. I suppose I could live without regret BUT what about Karma?

Either way I would only be able to live without regrets if I have made amends to those I knowingly hurt. I believe a GOD would forgive anyone who unknowingly hurt someone. I have to ask myself, if I am to live without regret- would my life be devoid of purity in my relationships? Would I be empty on some emotional or mental level? Would I cheat myself out of richness that accompanies human relationships?

I don't know, but I don't think it is always possible to live without regrets.

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