My hindsight is 20/80

Ever regret something so badly that it eats away at you for days on end? Ever experience regret's ravenous maw leaving a deep, infectious hole in your chest that threatens to devour your whole being?

Yeah, me neither.

At least, not really. That sinking feeling in my chest these last few days? Part regret, part self deprecation, and maybe even a little bit of indigestion.

Was I just playing it safe - as I keep telling myself - or was I really afraid of failure? Either way, that ship set sail without me.

Hindsight is 20/20, they say. I deign to disagree. Hindsight is a result of a funny mixture of memory and analysis. Take into account that people's memories are prone to failure and inaccuracies; eye-witness testimony is woefully unreliable. Also, people generally don't make choices logically; we tend to rely more on intuition and gut feelings than facts and information (there's that redundancy again). We make swooping generalizations and then irresponsibly apply them to very specific and diverse situations. Given all this, how clear and exact can our hindsight truly be? It's not like you can get prescription glasses for your hindsight.

The choices we make are always subject to scrutiny at a later date. I believe that "we should have done" garners too much thought when compared to "we have done". Or rather, the fact that we have choices is often overlooked, making us feel trapped and helpless when we shouldn't. But I'll leave that subject for another day.

Touching back on that sinking feeling for a minute, it's strange how no other ships have even come close to effecting me like this one, and I've been on the Titanic.

I'm sure I'll hear the sea calling again sooner or later. I hope for your happiness; if you're still not at that point, always remember that you have choices.

"Tap on my window, knock on my door I want to make you feel beautiful" -- She Will be Loved, Maroon 5