If you can look back on your life without any regrets, you're either a saint or a psychopath.

It's not healthy to obsess about the path not taken, but everyone indulges in some speculation about it. Or them. There's always more than one path. Multiple opportunities missed, or multiple disasters avoided? Let's go with Door Number Two.

I regret harsh words or being thoughtless. Sometimes I see the ignorance of youth in action and feel saddened or embarrassed or, at least, mystified. Who was that person?

Regrets that warrant more than a moment's reflection to resolve require taking the necessary steps — or simply learning and letting go if it's too late.

I like this quote from Paul Lewis Boese (1923–1976), which applies to forgiving others and forgiving ourselves:

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future."

Let's face the future at peace.

© 2026 Cynthia Friedlob