Have you ever wished that you could turn back time? Have you ever wanted to relive a moment that has already passed? Have you ever hoped that the world would pause, for just a second, so that you could change your choices and shift your bearings?
Although it is natural for people to regret a choice they have made in the past, regret is a feeling often associated with those who have already experienced most of what life has to offer. Thus, it is strange to imagine a generation of young people that has grown accustomed to living with a fear of regret.
We have the ability to feel remorse because it helps us make better decisions in the future. However, when we start making decisions to avoid regret, we inadvertently begin to define ourselves with the things that we wished we could have done, and not with our own skills and potential.
Recently, I discovered a small lizard perched on my windowsill. It was a creature with a strange appearance. It had small, golden eyes, sticky legs, and black markings down its back that reminded me of a tree trunk. As it captured and dined on various insects that ventured a little too close to its jaws, I grew curious and began to do some research about it. I was shocked to find that this was a rather interesting lizard!
This lizard was actually a Mourning Gecko. An interesting fact about the Mourning Gecko is that it reproduces through parthenogenesis. That is, when the geckos are mature enough, they simply lay eggs which hatch and grow into new geckos without the need for fertilisation. So, not only are Mourning Geckos genetically identical to their parent, but they are also all female. Apart from this interesting phenomenon, the Mourning Gecko also has a fascinating story behind its name. It is speculated that it received its name because it has the tendency of making loud, chirping noises, leading to the mistaken belief that it was mourning the male counterpart it never had. Indeed, despite the fact that this little creature is so delightfully unique, humanity has decided to identify it by something that it does not have, and will not ever need.
We often make similar mistakes with ourselves. We look back at our regrets, the things we have lost, and live the rest of our lives trying to avoid losing more instead of hoping for better outcomes. We mourn those things that we do not have and may not even need to succeed.
Although the fast-paced nature of the world may not give us enough time to go back and change our mistakes, it does give us the chance to move on resiliently without lingering on what is already done. We are all uniquely skilled in many ways, and we may find that there are so many things left to achieve in life that we may have never foreseen in the past. So, instead of continuing to search in the past, perhaps we should start looking forward to all the greatness that lies in front of us.
