Oh, To Take It All Back!

May 21, 2008 07:00

We've all done things we regret. In life, there aren't really "do overs" per se as much as there are opportunities to make different choices later on. Life is a harsh teacher, and I think by learning from others mistakes, we give ourselves a chance to learn by proxy.

Perspective is everything. Events that are emotionally complicated can become mentally overwhelming. But in retrospect, with time and objectivity, sometimes things aren't as bad as they once appeared.

In other cases, they are worse.

Last night in Dallas, a father and his small son were star gazing in the front yard. The father dozed off for a moment, the mother returned home from shopping, pulled into the driveway and went inside their home. It was only once they were inside that they heard the screaming. The mother had inadvertently run over their son and he died as a result.

How do you ever recover from something like that?

My heart breaks for this family. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to know that someone died, purely by accident, and you were the cause.

This is an extreme example I use to prove a point. So many times we feel like our words or actions have ruined someones life.

Rarely is that truly the case.

In the heat of the moment, words are exchanged that cannot be taken back. Sometimes we do things out of emotional chaos that in regular circumstances we would not. This is a fact worth remembering, so that in our next "crisis" we are able to step back and exhibit more self-control.

There is no taking it back: words, actions, thoughts. But there are new opportunities. Sometimes we have no choice but to literally go back to square one and start over. Other times we can salvage the pieces and try to re-construct what we had a hand in destroying.

But this is life. It is hard. It is cruel at times. But it belongs to each of us and it is what we make of it.

My thoughts are with the family I mentioned earlier today. It is in times like this that some of my "hard times" are put into perspective.

Today, I vow to try to keep my perspective balanced and fair. I vow to temper my words carefully and to think before I act. I cannot ensure that this will mean that tonight I won't have any regrets, but perhaps I'll have less, and that will already mean that I have grown a little more today.

obstacles, growth, remorse, faith, self-control, relationships, emotional duress, stress, regret, opportunities, challenges

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