Let It Go

Regret is a feeling of sadness, disappointment or remorse over something that has happened in the past. It's often accompanied by a sense of wishing things had been different or that a different choice had been made. It can come in the form of missed opportunities, mistakes or from feeling you have caused harm to yourself or others. It really is a common human emotion, which can be a constant reminder of days past. But you dont have to live in this state of being reminded, you can learn and make better choices in the future.

But we move forward and through recovery, we are taught to move forward. We make amends where we feel necessary, we address things as best as we can, as they happen when we are not happy or feel somethings niggling at us to sort out. We forgive others that have hurt us and we forgive ourselves even when others choose not to.

So where is the space then for regret. To be completely honest there is no space for it. On this very arduous journey of healing and recovery, everything that has happened has taken you to where you are right now and without those mistakes, you wouldn't be at this point. Sure, you possibly wish you had never picked up that first drink as a teenager. Sure you wish you could drink like others. Sure you wish you hadn't upset and hurt people but you know what matters, is that you learnt from it and you know not to make those mistakes again. If you were doing the same things over daily, you would be feeling that regret over and over. But once you start actively learning where you went wrong there is no space for regret in your life and we need to remember we are human and no person is without fault, even when they try pretend otherwise.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

We need to let it go for our own mental health. Regret will pull you into an abyss of what ifs. What's done is done, there can be no peace without moving on or forward if we are stuck in the land of regret and regret helps nobody, it's how you deal with it going forward.

So when I get asked on the regular basis if I have regrets, the short answer is no and If I have to dig really deep to look for something, the only regret I can stand here and openly declare. Is that I wish I had stopped drinking years ago, because I feel like Ive wasted so much of my life, so many hours of drunken mess I will never get back. And even then I'm clutching at straws, because Im making up for all that lost time here and now and without all those past mistakes, I may never have seen things as clear as I do today.