Following themes: Regrets

I don't know why I chose regrets as a theme for today. I try not to dwell on the past and not hang on to regrets. I used to force bad memories out of my mind, pretend they didn't happen. I don't recommend this method. I completely believe in the importance of learning from past experiences especially bad ones and by blocking out unwelcome memories they end up losing even that purpose. So I try to look at them the way I try to look at bad test results. Every incorrect answer is simply an opportunity for me to learn exactly what I did wrong. Every bad experience is a chance for me to grow as a person and increase my wisdom.

I find it harder to get over little regrets than the more major ones. For example I was in town a few weeks ago and there was a boy, about twelve, busking on the street. He was playing the guitar and singing Homecoming by Green Day who are beyond doubt my favourite band. I was painfully aware that I only had a ten euro note with me at the time and no change. I wanted so badly to give him something because he was an amazing singer and I'm in love with the song and the band. I wanted to stop and talk to him, tell him how great he was but I felt like I'd be interrupting his performance. So I was forced to walk past him unable to do anything to acknowledge how much his music meant to me.

I still regret this incident, even though I didn't really have another reasonable choice, I felt like I made a decision and I felt a sort of guilt for it. I knew I had the power to make someones day perhaps a tiny bit better by admitting I liked the music he was making. And I made the decision not to.

It's tiny things like this that I lose sleep over, wishing I could be a 'better' person.
I suggest that anyone feeling intense regret at the moment should watch this video on TED Talks by Kathryn Schulz which is simultaneously inspiring and interesting.

There is a specific line that I really like from the song Time of your Life by Green Day.
"So make the best of this test and don't ask why/ It's not a question but a lesson learnt in time."
They say time heals all wounds, and yet sometimes it leaves scars. It's these scars that remind us of the choices we made and eternally act as a badge of the wisdom we earned. Regret is unavoidable so you might as well try to take some good out of it. What ever you do, I hope you have the time of your life.

Kate