How To Hold Regret Tenderly

I started to say, my typical response

to regret is to deny it, when I remembered

David Whyte's essay on the matter in his book, Consolations.

"Sincere regret may, in fact, be a faculty for paying attention to the future, 

for sensing a new tide where we missed a previous one, 

for experiencing timelessness with a grandchild where we neglected a boy of our own.

 To regret fully is to appreciate how high the stakes are in even the average human life. 

Fully experienced, regret turns our eyes, attentive and alert, 

to a future possibly lived better than our past."

He does have a way with thoughts and words.

I'm noting what a gift it is to have

people who can share their thoughts and feelings

through eloquent words by sharing their humanity

with their readers who calibrate their thinking and living,

contributing untold value to the River of Goodness.

kastilwell