I regret regretting

A close friend recently told me her philosophy on life: "No regrets."

I liked it. So I tried adopting it.

Epic fail.

Maybe I failed only because I regret crazy shit I've done in the past. Maybe if I try living by "no regrets" in regards to what I do now, I might find success. But the more I think about it, the more I regret. The more I wish I could change.

There are general regrets. Like spending almost a dollar a day all summer on polar pops. Or like not seeing my mother nearly as often as I should have.

And then there are specific regrets. Like eating that apple cobbler at Ruth Chris after I'd already stuffed my  body to the bursting point. Or like accidentally sending a very personal text to the person it was about, not to the person for whom it was intended. Or like leaving Starbucks to go up to Fishers so I wouldn't miss Saturday Night Live.

I guess in theory, "No regrets" should set my mind at rest, because there's obviously nothing I can do now to change the things I've done. But I always think about what I could have done. How I could have handled the situation better. I suppose I can learn from my mistakes. Do better next time. But that still doesn't fix it. 

I just remembered a line from a Rent song: "Forget regret or life is yours to miss." 

And I also just remembered a quote from Lion King: "You gotta put your behind in your past.. er.. you gotta put your past behind you."

Oops.