It’s late Tuesday morning. On a major thoroughfare, traffic stops at a signal light. A southbound driver wants to turn left and the stopped traffic creates a space for him to cross two lanes of traffic. Unbeknownst to him, a vehicle is coming that he cannot see, nor can the driver who signaled him to cross. Naturally, a collision occurs which results in smashed vehicles and an injured body. These are some of the visible results. 

After I approached the driver who crossed over, another result is noticeable. It is evident in his facial expression and voice. He regrets his decision. Possible questions filling his mind might be, “Why did I do that?” “Why did I trust that person?” “Why did I not look closer myself?” 

A logical conclusion might be, “Now look at what has happened!” 

It is late Wednesday morning. On another major thoroughfare, traffic stops at a signal light. A southbound driver wants to turn left and the stopped traffic creates a space for her to cross two lanes of traffic. Unbeknownst to her, a vehicle is coming that she cannot see nor can the driver who signaled her to cross. Naturally, a collision occurs which results in three smashed vehicles and slightly injured bodies. These are some of the visible results. 

Another visible result in the face and voice of the driver who chose to cross over is regret. I suspect that similar questions filled her mind that likely rang inside of the driver in the first accident. 

Regret is an emotion that can quickly pass from our minds or it can remain for months, years or for the better part of one’s lifetime. In these two incidents, no one’s injuries were fatal nor severe. Once the initial shock wears off and the reality that no one died nor was critically injured sinks in, then the driver’s regret can perhaps lessen and hopefully fade during the coming days. 

One helpful thought for all of us is to remember that a decision cannot be reversed and that moving forward in life is the healthiest choice. This can be a very difficult process due to many factors. There is commonly a connection between the severity of one’s consequences and the ability to let go of regret.  

My encouragement is for us to not let regret control our lives. We all make mistakes and live with consequences, but we can still choose to go forward having learned from our decisions and knowing that we can make wiser choices in the future.