Living With Regret

In the Biblical story of Lot, he and his wife are told by God not to look back as they leave Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot's wife turns to look back at their home as they flee. And what happens? She turns into a "pillar of salt."

Symbolically, what does this mean to us today in our lives?

Have you ever made a decision and regretted it later? I have. When I was in college, I was in love with a young man. One night we got together for dinner and he had exciting news that he wanted to share with me. He had been told by his football coach that he would be on the starting team in the next game. I was coming down with a cold and was not really that attentive to what he was saying. I chose to go up to my dorm room and go to bed early with promises to him that when he came back, we would get together and celebrate. The next day he was killed in a plane crash that took the lives of most of the football team. I regretted my actions and what I perceived as my selfishness and self-centeredness. I felt guilty and ashamed for years.

When we get stuck in regret, we are like Lot's wife, immobilized, and stuck in the past. It is hard for us to move forward into our future and be fully present to what it has to offer.

Are you still beating yourself up about something you did in the past? If there is something that you regret, forgive yourself. Realize that you did the best that you could at the time with your current level of consciousness. And then, turn around and move forward.