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 Sat May 27, 2006 23:34 pm Regrets? I've had a few, but then again... |
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If I start thinking back to everything I shouldn’t have done, I might slip into a depression! So I’d better not trigger feelings of regret now!
Were I to be given a second chance, I would ask for everything to be different, except for my family and the best moments. Living the same life all over again doesn’t appeal to me at all, so why not change countries, languages, people, experiences, once we’re at it?
Now I wouldn't like to give the wrong impression. I'm perfectly happy with who and what I am and feel privileged and grateful for every single day  . |
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Conchita
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| Sun May 28, 2006 4:46 am Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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There is a novel by P.D. Ouspensky, one of several Russians who have become English novelists, called The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin. The main character, Ivan, regretted his life, and was given a chance to live it again with the full knowledge that he had in his later, wiser years. As he lives his life over again, he finds he can't change anything, because circumstances made the things he had done before unavoidable.
There are many things I would do differently. One is that I would study math better and take more science in school. Knowing more math would make my life easier now, and I would now get a great deal more satisfaction from life if I knew more science. In fact, when I hear about some of the breakthroughs in medical research, it makes me so excited that I wish I had gone into that profession.
Another thing I would have done differently is that in my 20s I would have gone ahead and stolen other men's girlfriends. This sounds crazy, but let me explain: When I was in my 20s and early 30s, I would sometimes be approached by perfectly nice young women who were interested in me, and I would reject them. I would have been happy to date them, but the problem for me was that they would often be in a relationship with another man. Out of a sense of honor, and a sense of compassion for the other man, I would not "steal" his girlfriend. After all, how would I feel if someone did that to me? I just couldn't do that to any man. This was always a really stupid mistake, because the girl never stayed with the guy anyway, and because of my "honor", I never got her. Maybe I would have found a good wife among these girls. |
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Jamie (K)
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Sunflower
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| Sun May 28, 2006 9:44 am Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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Hi you all!
Why should I regret anything what I have done? I mean, of course, I could have studied English in earlier years! But would I have met you here now if I would have done that? Therefore I think it doesn?t matter what I could have done. For me important is what I?m doing now! And also I would not be me If I would have done anything in a different way, or what?
Michael |
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Fan Of Arabian Horses
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| Sun May 28, 2006 10:44 am Math |
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Hi Jamie,
I was interested to see that you use math as an abbreviation for mathematics. When I first read it, I assumed it was a typo but clearly it isn't. I would write maths and the only use of math I can think of would be in polymath someone of immense learning.
Alan
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Alan
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| Sun May 28, 2006 10:52 am Math |
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| Alan wrote: | | I was interested to see that you use math as an abbreviation for mathematics. When I first read it, I assumed it was a typo but clearly it isn't. I would write maths and the only use of math I can think of would be in polymath someone of immense learning. |
In North America we say "math" for mathematics, and the first time we hear "maths" it sounds like a mistake to us. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Sun May 28, 2006 11:06 am Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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Hi Cristina,
I was doing in my life many awful and bad things but I regret them just a little I don't know why but I regret things which I haven't done specially some very dirty things.
regards
Jan
bad man , bad answer |
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Jan
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| Sun May 28, 2006 11:16 am Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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| Jan wrote: | | I was doing in my life many awful and bad things but I regret them just a little I don't know why but I regret things which I haven't done specially some very dirty things. |
Jan, do you ever wake up at night upset, with your head full of something you did when you were younger, and think, "Why didn't I die when I did that?! How is it possible I'm still alive?!"
I get that sometimes. So does my neighbor. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Sun May 28, 2006 15:38 pm Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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| Quote: | | Jan, do you ever wake up at night upset, with your head full of something you did when you were younger, and think, "Why didn't I die when I did that?! How is it possible I'm still alive?!" |
Hi,
I wish to say no , but regretfully it won't true good thing is since many many years I have already (black dreams - no dreams at all)
Well about the dirty things I though for example to drink milk with tea I never had managed that,and what I used to do awful and with wicked pleasure was to wash "dirty" English teapots on bridge and because of this many Albions wanted just made me being regretting but my missionary vision to spread civilization was freeing me from any regrets (probably)
Well I used to come up with strange stories when I was forced by parents to attend a confession at the catholic church and priests were always full of respect Recently my brother admits that he is doing this with his
psychoanalyst.
Well crazy family,sick depraved people awful just awful.
regards
Jan
I would swear I have seen before some email about what dirty dirty ... and the discussion have gone to far, or something like this .
Well putative septuagenarians ( me and only me) have memory problems and have now surly something like before summer depression.
(maybe it was just my imagination). |
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Jan
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| Sun May 28, 2006 21:10 pm Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | Jan, do you ever wake up at night upset, with your head full of something you did when you were younger, and think, "Why didn't I die when I did that?! How is it possible I'm still alive?!"
I get that sometimes. So does my neighbor. |
Now you’ve got us curious, Jamie! You must have been very, very naughty indeed to think you should die for it! It’s probably only half as bad as it feels in the middle of the night, anyway.
If I wake up in the darkest hour and ‘switch on’ my brain – which I try to avoid, whether or not I have to go to the bathroom, I sometimes get an inexplicable feeling of doom and gloom, even if everything seems to be all right. Then, when I get up in the morning, things look rosy again and I wonder what I had been so worried about. |
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Conchita
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| Sun May 28, 2006 22:41 pm Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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| Conchita wrote: | | Jamie (K) wrote: | Jan, do you ever wake up at night upset, with your head full of something you did when you were younger, and think, "Why didn't I die when I did that?! How is it possible I'm still alive?!"
I get that sometimes. So does my neighbor. |
Now you’ve got us curious, Jamie! You must have been very, very naughty indeed to think you should die for it! It’s probably only half as bad as it feels in the middle of the night, anyway. |
Exactly, Conchita. It made me very curious, too. 
C'mon, fess up, Jamie! Were you really as naughty as all that?
Amy |
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Yankee
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| Mon May 29, 2006 0:01 am Do you have any regrets about things you've done? |
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| Yankee wrote: | Exactly, Conchita. It made me very curious, too.
C'mon, fess up, Jamie! Were you really as naughty as all that? |
RISK TAKING! It was risk taking! I'm not talking about things that were so sinful that the Almightly should have punished me with death and damnation (although there were surely some of those). I'm talking about situations where there should have been a car crash, I should have fallen off of something, I should have been murdered by a biker gang or a serial killer, I should have been attacked by one of those wild dogs that lives in old cars, or something like that.
I did typical things American guys do in their early 20s, but with more of an edge. Most American students are quartered in dormitories, so they're somewhat protected from their stupidity. I went to a commuter school in the middle of the big bad city, worked in a factory in an even worse neighborhood, and was not supervised by residence advisors or university administrators.
My neighbor gets disgusted at her former self, because like many party animals in their 20s, she used to tell people, "I can't get a new car, because the one I've got knows its way home." I had a bit of that in me too. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Mon May 29, 2006 8:58 am Regrets |
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Wait for it - any minute now Sinatra will appear and give us a quick rendition of:
Regrets, I've had a few ...
It brings a tear to the eye, doesn't it?
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Alan
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| Mon May 29, 2006 16:27 pm Do you have any regrets? |
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Hi,
Many thanks to Cristina and everyone who has been sharing their experiences and thoughts on this this interesting topic.
I have read every response and like to say that a lot of what you have said sounds all to familiar to me. I used to regret decisions I had made but lately I have come to realize that there better ways of spending my time and energy. What is the definition of the word regret? It's something like feeling sorrow or remorseful.
If I regret something I want to change something that has already happened. In other words, regretting something means I'm wasting my time because changing something that has already happened is impossible. So, instead of thinking about what could have been I'd rather think about what will be.
To be honest, what exactly is the use of the conditional III? How often do you need it? I have made the decision that from now on I will live my life in such a way that I won't need the conditional III at all. If somebody wants me to explain the rules of the conditional III, I'll refer them to the Explanation of the Conditional III and remind them that the Conditional I is much more important and useful.
What do you think of this?
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