I recently struck up an extended conversation with a man I barely knew.  He was eager to talk and almost seemed as if no one had asked him how he was doing in years.  The conversation actually broke my heart.  At the beginning of the chat, the man was jovial and energetic—he was really putting on his best face for me (a stranger).  Then, as I continued to ask questions about his life and respond to his tales, he became increasingly melancholy.  I soon realized that this man was completely weighed down by regret.  He spent his days looking back at the past instead of looking forward.  I hoped that our conversation would help relieve his burden and put some of his pain behind him, but as it came to a close he began to apologize for having had it at all.  Sadly, our conversation had just become one more thing that he regretted.   I reached out and touched his hand and told him that I didn’t regret our chat at all.  He smiled at me, but I could still see worry in his creased, aging eyes.  I would have loved to have lightened his load, but I realized that life is about our own personal journeys and only we can decide if we want to look forward or look backward.  We are all human, and we will inevitably make mistakes.  I guess the key to happiness is whether we choose to learn from our mistakes and move on or let our mistakes dictate how we live our lives and think about ourselves. 

Beth