“Regrets are a waste of time. They're the past crippling you in the present.” –Federico Fellini (Italian Film Director/Scriptwriter 1920-1993)
I love this quote. Fellini had a lot of great quotes, like this one, about how to live your life. I haven’t figured out a way to go back in time to change the past. Have you? Still, I find myself succumbing to pangs of regret sometimes. I think that has more to do with my present attitude and perspective, rather than my past actions.
This is not to say that you should just forget the past altogether though. History is a great teacher, if we are willing to learn. Smile on the past, and learn from it, so that you can have a better today. I think that a big part of being able to learn from the past, though, is being able to see which of your actions (or thoughts) didn’t serve you or others very well. I think of this little snippet from 1st John-
1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Now, whether or not you believe in the concept of sinning as a sort-of cosmic penalty (knocking points off your theoretical total needed for “salvation”) this verse can bear some meaning. Think of “sins” more like mistakes. Do you regret those mistakes? Or have you acknowledged them, learned, and moved forward? In other words, have you confessed them- either to yourself or to another? Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is not embedded in a past “regret” but in the process of regretting. Chances are, the process of regretting has something to do with a pair of rose-colored glasses that you reserve only for retrospection.
Peace, Love, and Laughter,
Emily
This is not to say that you should just forget the past altogether though. History is a great teacher, if we are willing to learn. Smile on the past, and learn from it, so that you can have a better today. I think that a big part of being able to learn from the past, though, is being able to see which of your actions (or thoughts) didn’t serve you or others very well. I think of this little snippet from 1st John-
1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Now, whether or not you believe in the concept of sinning as a sort-of cosmic penalty (knocking points off your theoretical total needed for “salvation”) this verse can bear some meaning. Think of “sins” more like mistakes. Do you regret those mistakes? Or have you acknowledged them, learned, and moved forward? In other words, have you confessed them- either to yourself or to another? Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is not embedded in a past “regret” but in the process of regretting. Chances are, the process of regretting has something to do with a pair of rose-colored glasses that you reserve only for retrospection.
Peace, Love, and Laughter,
Emily