In an Instant

by Suzanne Redfearn

Regret is a tough emotion to live with, impossible to move on from, because what’s done is done.

Strange how each perspective is so different, eleven entirely separate points of view.

“How do I get past it?” she mumbles, not necessarily to him. Hate. Hurt. Guilt. And grief. So much of it that I feel its thickness and its weight, like she is drowning and can’t breathe. “A single step at a time,” the man says, speaking from some profound experience of his own and with deep understanding, making me wonder if all pain might be the same regardless of its origin. “You’re still here,” he goes on. “So there’s not really a choice. An inch, a foot, not necessarily in the right direction, but onward nonetheless.”

“Until eventually,” he says, “the present becomes the past, and you are somewhere else altogether, hopefully in a better place than you are today.”

You only live once, and no one has any idea how long that once is going to be, so grab on tight and hold on for the ride and don’t worry about it and don’t look back.

Rest in peace is not merely an epitaph for a tombstone; it is the best we can hope for in death.

Every journey begins with a single step. Clear your mind of can’t. Fear is what stops you; courage is what keeps you going.”

regret is the most difficult emotion to live with, but in order to have regret, you need to have a conscience: an interesting paradox that allows the worst of us to suffer the least in the aftermath of wrongdoing.