Regrets and How to Lose Them

Today I woke up feeling shitty… uncertain… unfulfilled… yet filled with regrets. And what I realized is that if I’m feeling this way a lot of people are. I have the tools and the ability to work through the feelings and to come to the other side of things. But not everyone does. So this morning I’m going to walk you through the way I deal with this so you understand how you can effectively adjust your own thought process.

Maybe it is the insane dreams I’ve been having as of late effectively destroying my sleep patterns. Maybe it’s the reflection of a birthday and another year passed. Maybe it’s the impregnation of nearly all the women in my life underlining the lack of, for better words, a birth of newness in my own. Maybe it’s the looming threat of war our current government has hanging over our heads. But whatever the reason.. today… I woke up with regrets.

I admit it. I’m fallible. I’m human. My heart believes certain things that my head can’t always support. No matter how much I believe in miracles… or the universal order… the fact is… I’ve started to question if my current state of life would be the same if it weren’t for the progression of my choices.

I can’t hold it against myself to believe multiple and conflicting beliefs.

At this point my heart jumps in and says this: Have you ever been using Waze (or some other app) to find your way to a destination - thought it was taking too long and known that you could save time with a quicker route and when you veered from the path you still got to the destination in the same amount of time (if not longer)?

Bless my little heart for pointing this out and reflect on that idea.

Veering off the path that is predetermined will get you there - to your destination - at the same time... if not later. Waze might be a bad metaphor since it is an algorithm determined via satellite based on the actions of many… but the idea is pretty solid.

You make choices and changes to get you somewhere. And no matter what the progression of choices or changes you will always get there when you are supposed to be there. I’m not talking about death as a destination. I’m talking about the vision for your life, your lessons and your successes.

So the regrets you are feeling isn’t in the path but in the vision or the lack of vision. But will having a clear vision ensure that you get to your destination sooner? No. Clarity in vision does not have a timer on your “life app”. There is no way to expect to get somewhere “sooner” if you don’t really know how long it is supposed to take (regardless of what you believe will be the quickest route). There is no way to know if the vision of your destination is the destination itself or the “closest available parking lot”.

There isn’t an app for that.

There is nothing to help you through this other than to trust and believe that what happens next is what is supposed to happen next. No matter how granola-crunchy that sounds. No matter how passive an approach to life that might seem. Your actions will not effectively accelerate your way “there”.  

All you can do is be in the moment you are in. Enjoy the moment you are in. Appreciate the moments you have had, the good and the bad. Sit back and welcome the moments to come. And try your best to brace yourself because this will be a bumpy ride.