Of Letting Go Of Regrets And Living In The Present!

 

'Don't let yesterday take too much of today.' - Will Rogers

We sure are living in chaotic times! There are fears of resurgence of a pandemic. There is the usual household drama occupying most of our minds. There are anxieties and worries about the future - both for ourselves and our kids. The kids are a whole new level of anxiety and worry combined. If you are dealing with teens, you know what you are dealing with. There are the usual health concerns that drop in and make their presence felt from time to time.

It sometimes amazes me - the sheer capacity of the human mind to carry so much weightage and not sink under it. We really must be made of some tough stuff to handle life! And yet, there is something that succeeds in crushing our spirit, in robbing all joy from our life and in imprisoning our mind. It is REGRET. It is one of the most overlooked yet potent factors that manages to restrain our zest for life. 

It goes without saying that regret is for something that happened in the past. A little bit of regret is necessary in life as it reminds us of our humble origins and warns us to not to repeat some mistakes that we might have done in the past. But staying frozen in the past and seething under regret for something that cannot be changed, is an utter waste of time and energy.  It robs us of the present moment's peace and calm. It stops us from trying to be better versions of ourselves, constantly reminding us about what we did in the past in ignorance and punishing us even today for something that probably happened years ago. 

Sometimes it is not even a mistake that we regret about, just something that happened as per the grand plan of the Universe and over which, we had no control! Can you imagine an already-burdened mind reeling under today's pressures, sinking deeply into regret about something which happened in the past!? Do we really deserve to live like this, carrying such heavy mental loads that tire our very soul!? No, we do not. We deserve to be at peace. We deserve to live with an inner calm that we never lose. We deserve to enjoy the present moment and experience it fully.

Let go of regrets, of what happened in the past. I believe that the past is just a dream that no longer exists in this moment, and the future is just a prospect, something that doesn't exist in reality. All we have is now. At this moment, you are not what you used to be before. That person has already disappeared like the dream you saw a few nights ago. Along with that person, the deed/event/mistake has also passed away. This moment, you are anew. You are a fresh version of yourself, someone with the capability of doing great things. Do not let something that doesn't exist anymore, stop you from doing something good this moment. 

The present has enough concerning issues. We do not need the additional baggage from yesterday to increase the mental load. There is absolutely no point in fussing about yesterday, something that you cannot change, or worrying about tomorrow, something over which you have no control. All you can do is make peace with the present moment, live it well and do full justice to it. Yesterday has already taken care of itself, tomorrow too will mend its own way. All we need to do is take care of the present moment. 

Life will present many challenges. It is up to us to choose our battles wisely. Regret is something that will only drain our energy. Nothing really helpful has happened by living in regret. No one has changed the future by obsessively worrying about tomorrow. But by taking the present moment by its reins and living it fully, one can definitely change their life for the better. 

Every living being is deserving of a peaceful mind and a stress-free existence. This can come only by letting go of regrets about past and worries about future. With an overloaded mind, we cannot enjoy the present moment. Empty your mind to make space for the peace and calm of the present moment. Accept that there are things that cannot be undone and things that we will never have control over. Forgive yourself if you feel that something happened in the past because of you, and move on. Let go of things that happened over which you had no control. See the past as a dream that you saw, and live in the present.  If nothing else, then two years of complete lockdown in the world, have taught us that there will always be that one major event which will spiral wildly out of our control. Let us rather look after what we really have in our hands - this present moment - and take care of it. 

Let go of what happened in the past.

Let go of who you were in the past.

Let go of any regret you have about something that happened in the past.

Live today, this moment, now!