No Regrets

"What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, 'This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence. The eternal hourglass will again and again be turned and you with it, dust of the dust!' Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse that demon? Or would you answer, 'Never have I heard anything more divine'?"
-Friedrich Nietzsche

If that quote is rather depressing to you then you probably know the answer to the question.  I wonder how many of us find regret as an uncomfortable weight on our shoulders?  

Regret can cause irrational decisions and unwise actions; regret ignites the cold, aching sense of fear in the pit of your stomach; regret whispers in your ear that there will be more regret.  I'm not sure it's possible not to have any regrets but I don't believe we need to live where we are controlled by even just one.  

I try to look at my life through the lens of hope and dreams rather than the murky window of 'what if?'  That question leads down a path to nowhere and, ironically, a mindset of caution rather than daring.  It's important to gaze upon the life you are living and breathe in all the little and big blessings.  As you do you suddenly begin to appreciate instead of moan.  As I write this I have a cat and a dog cuddled up next to me, fast asleep and cozy, a soothing folk album is playing in the background, a gently steaming mug of tea is by me, a new Stephen King novel is ready on my Kindle and I have a fiancé soon to be on her way home from work.  A lovely combination.

I could focus on a list of things worrying me or issues that have made me mad recently but, if that Nietzsche demon were to visit me I would not want to re-live my life consumed by resentment and worry but rather optimism and love.  None of us have a perfect existence but, if you're reading this on a computer/phone in a warm building, then you have a pretty good foundation for a fairly decent existence and therefore a choice of hope over nihilism, love over hate, productiveness over procrastination and grace over selfishness.  

Peace.  x 

Love Drives Out Fear

I believe in you. I don't doubt your ability to overcome those fears and anxieties. I don't doubt your integrity and desire to make things right. They are mistakes after all and I will never judge you; mistakes are not a breach of integrity. I have made many mistakes, but I know in my deepest being that I am still a man of integrity.

You might be gripped by fears and doubts, but those fears are not your master, your keeper, nor your identity. Do not allow the words and actions of others to define you, for what they have done is actually a mark of their insecurities, not yours. We are in a world of fear; open the newspaper and you will see. We are told that we will be bombed, mugged, raped, stolen from, deceived and walked over every day. We are told the world is falling apart. We are told to be scared. Yes, the world is currently fragile and economies are in strife. Yes, fundamentalists want disrupt harmony and impose their ideals and self-righteousness on us, but have they not throughout history?

The key is to remember that if you love others, respect others and give unconditionally then you are sowing a goodness into the world that drives away fear and loathing. Do not become a pawn of a society which wants to breed fear. Do not become a product of a culture that wants you to live in fear and doubt. Be true to you and stand firm in your belief that love wins.

Peace.