Regret

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a sugary sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

~Langston Hughes


The smartest, keenest, most incisive kind of self-recrimination stems from giving up on a dream. Not from weaknesses, not from failures, not from growing out of a dream, but giving up on a dream when it's still dear to your heart.

Regret is the worst pain of all. And you can pretend, you can chose to forget, you can avoid whatever it was. You can tell the world that you simply outgrew it, that it no longer made sense, that you now desire other things. But what can you do when it finds you again? When your buried dreams arise from the shallow grave you stuffed them in, along with your shame, what will you do? When you see it, that glimpse of the fulfillment and joy you once cherished, everything you told yourself to forget will come flying back. You'll remember the rush, the excitement, the moment when you gave your best effort and brushed hands with perfection, the moment when you knew happiness.

And then you'll remember that you walked away. There may have been deterrents, scoffing, the entire world set against you. Walking away may have been the smartest thing you've done in your life--but you will look back, and you will know regret.