Regrets

My life has taken a slight turn in a different direction, with me left to decide if it was for the better or worse.  And while I have yet to discover which, I know one thing for sure: I do know that I don't regret any of what happened. 

After all,

"Never regret anything that makes you smile" -Mark Twain

And I smiled a lot.  In fact, I have been smiling uncontrollably the last few days.  And so, even if other people tell me I made a mistake and even if I did, I will not regret. 

So when a friend of mine told me that he thought I had made a huge mistake and was surprised when I told him I had no regrets about it, I go to thinking about that small yet monumental word which could make or break our life.

Regrets.

They seem to follow us everywhere. 

'I should have done this.  I could have done that.  I wish I had never done this.  Why did I ever do that?'

But honestly, what is the point in regretting a moment or a word or a mistake when every single piece of our lives makes us who we are?  It is self-destructive to regret who we are, so:

Why do we regret?

Until someone finally invents a time machine that allows us to travel back in time and correct mistakes, regrets can only hurt us. 

And to the next person who tells me I should regret a moment that I am perfectly happy with, I can only say I feel sorry for you.  You have not reached the level of self-content I have reached.  I can only hope someday you do, and realize that

"As you grow older, you will find the only things you regret are the things you did not do" -Zachary Scott