Tuesday, March 31, 2009

no regrets

The cable channel SOAPnet has recently launched a new original series Becoming Erica, that has an interesting premise: Erica a single, 30 year old, is searching for herself, and with the assistance of a magical therapist is allowed to go back and re-do crucial moments in her life. Often these "re-dos" have no overall consequences or negative consequences, and my sense after watching several episodes this weekend is that the underlying message is to stop obsessing about the past and focus on what you can do in the present.

Watching episodes of Becoming Erica this past weekend got me to thinking whether or not I would want to go back and re-do anything in my life. There are many situations where I behaved in ways that were hurtful to someone else, and if I could undo the hurt without otherwise changing my life than I probably would. But when I think about the key moments in my life that I viewed as "mistakes" at the time, decisions that cost me jobs or relationships, decisions that I regretted in the short run, there is not one that I would go back and change. Because if any one of those significant moments in my life had turned in another direction, I would not have found John and not have the life I have now, which is a wonderful life. Not a perfect life, no one has a perfect life, but its the right life for me.

3 comments:

beth b said...

How lovely! I sense that you are a person at peace. Beautiful.

sgreerpitt said...

Tahnks, I working on it at any rate :)

SandyCarlson said...

Makes me think of a NYT article I read on Monday about a new drug that could alter memory--erasing or emphasizing. My first and only thought: let it be.