- Sep 5, 2016
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How is regret different from remorse?. Why is this even important to me now?. Some important decisions that will alter my life's course by more than a few compass points are pending and i was just contemplating the consequences of my action / inaction. Someday when i look back on this moment which will seem a better choice? - regret or remorse?.
By default i would pick remorse as i know and feel today, because it would mean i had done something that day, at that moment.. Notwithstanding the fact that it may turn out and seem wrong, incorrect, unwise at a later date maybe. That i had the courage to head into the very heavy swell and be brave enough to keep my ship afloat despite the pounding, pitching and rolling.
Regretting would mean that i took no action, froze on the con - like we call the murderous sin at sea. Succumbed to my fears or the illusion of my fears. That i feel - is not the luxury one can afford at sea or in life, not a sailor - nor a landlubber.
Remorse is the mess we make in our life out of choice. Regret is the beauty we chose to let slip through our fingers due our unwarranted fears. Remorse involves admitting one’s own mistakes and taking responsibility for your actions. It creates a sense of guilt and sorrow for hurting someone else and leads to confession and true apology. It also moves the remorseful person to avoid doing the hurtful action again. Regret leads a person to avoid punishment in the future, while remorse leads to avoiding hurtful actions towards others in the future.
Guilt encompasses you both ways in the end eventually. But then, was it Virginia Woolf or Cinderella who belted out these lines, i, seriously forget now - 'it's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all...'... in my view - remorse wins over regret. Regret is the bigger cut, the bigger bleeder.
....that's how it feels to me. Over to you..
By default i would pick remorse as i know and feel today, because it would mean i had done something that day, at that moment.. Notwithstanding the fact that it may turn out and seem wrong, incorrect, unwise at a later date maybe. That i had the courage to head into the very heavy swell and be brave enough to keep my ship afloat despite the pounding, pitching and rolling.
Regretting would mean that i took no action, froze on the con - like we call the murderous sin at sea. Succumbed to my fears or the illusion of my fears. That i feel - is not the luxury one can afford at sea or in life, not a sailor - nor a landlubber.
Remorse is the mess we make in our life out of choice. Regret is the beauty we chose to let slip through our fingers due our unwarranted fears. Remorse involves admitting one’s own mistakes and taking responsibility for your actions. It creates a sense of guilt and sorrow for hurting someone else and leads to confession and true apology. It also moves the remorseful person to avoid doing the hurtful action again. Regret leads a person to avoid punishment in the future, while remorse leads to avoiding hurtful actions towards others in the future.
Guilt encompasses you both ways in the end eventually. But then, was it Virginia Woolf or Cinderella who belted out these lines, i, seriously forget now - 'it's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all...'... in my view - remorse wins over regret. Regret is the bigger cut, the bigger bleeder.
....that's how it feels to me. Over to you..
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