I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return. Well I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today, because I knew you.
I wish I could take credit for those words, but I can not. They are actually the opening verse to the song For Good from the musical Wicked. They are, however, a perfect lead in for today's song choice for a song that makes me feel guilty. In my mind, I think I blurred the definitions of guilt and regret, in order to meet today's challenge. I do not like guilt. I have found that guilt can be a very debilitating thing as I have gotten older. The only solution I have found is the following. Know who you are, accept your limits, make your choices to the best of your abilities, and own the results. By doing this, guilt loses its hold after a while and others lose their ability to make you feel guilty and use it against you.
Regret can be a result sometimes of this plan though. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try or how much thought you put into something, it does not work out the way you had hoped or intended. Then you can get caught up in the "Could have, Should have, Would have" cycle which can be as paralyzing as guilt can be. I say you "can" get caught in that, but it that is not always the case. That's where owning the results comes in. If you know, you did the best you could with what you had to work with, then regret is changed from its paralyzing form to more of an acceptance. It is often still a "wish it could have been different" but that is something we can live with and go on with our lives.
That was a long winded explanation of where I am coming from with today's song. I have had many, many dear friends in my life's journey so far. Several of them have appeared in the various song selections over the last couple weeks, and each one of them has had a transformative effect on my life, helping to make me the person I am today. I can literally draw out a map through the years marked with of each of these persons, who have played such a vital part of my life and the development of my character. While they were here, I did not ever foresee them not being around forever, but in the end, they were just passing through, being on their own journeys. I wish they were all still here, and regret the loss of their continued daily presence. It is not really guilt that I feel at allowing them to slip away, but regret that I was not able to hold on to them just a while longer. Even though, I realize now, that they were on their own personal journeys through this life and accept that people come and go over time, I still experience pangs of regret that they slipped away, and some irrational guilt that I lacked the foresight to prevent it.
For all of you, and you know who you are, if you come across this. Know that you are still and always will be a part of me and in my heart. "I know I'm who I am today, because I knew you." Thank you
I wish I could take credit for those words, but I can not. They are actually the opening verse to the song For Good from the musical Wicked. They are, however, a perfect lead in for today's song choice for a song that makes me feel guilty. In my mind, I think I blurred the definitions of guilt and regret, in order to meet today's challenge. I do not like guilt. I have found that guilt can be a very debilitating thing as I have gotten older. The only solution I have found is the following. Know who you are, accept your limits, make your choices to the best of your abilities, and own the results. By doing this, guilt loses its hold after a while and others lose their ability to make you feel guilty and use it against you.
Regret can be a result sometimes of this plan though. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try or how much thought you put into something, it does not work out the way you had hoped or intended. Then you can get caught up in the "Could have, Should have, Would have" cycle which can be as paralyzing as guilt can be. I say you "can" get caught in that, but it that is not always the case. That's where owning the results comes in. If you know, you did the best you could with what you had to work with, then regret is changed from its paralyzing form to more of an acceptance. It is often still a "wish it could have been different" but that is something we can live with and go on with our lives.
That was a long winded explanation of where I am coming from with today's song. I have had many, many dear friends in my life's journey so far. Several of them have appeared in the various song selections over the last couple weeks, and each one of them has had a transformative effect on my life, helping to make me the person I am today. I can literally draw out a map through the years marked with of each of these persons, who have played such a vital part of my life and the development of my character. While they were here, I did not ever foresee them not being around forever, but in the end, they were just passing through, being on their own journeys. I wish they were all still here, and regret the loss of their continued daily presence. It is not really guilt that I feel at allowing them to slip away, but regret that I was not able to hold on to them just a while longer. Even though, I realize now, that they were on their own personal journeys through this life and accept that people come and go over time, I still experience pangs of regret that they slipped away, and some irrational guilt that I lacked the foresight to prevent it.
For all of you, and you know who you are, if you come across this. Know that you are still and always will be a part of me and in my heart. "I know I'm who I am today, because I knew you." Thank you
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