Welcome back to Rooted&Real, the last episode (of 'If I Knew Then' Series).
This is Lynda, your pal.
If I knew then what I know now,
I would have made peace with regret sooner.
But in all this, in all this what we've said about knowing then what you know now,
there's the good, there's the bad, and there's THE UGLY.
So let's start with the good.
If you're saying that regret means you cared, it means you've grown.
If you feel regret, it's because you're not the same person who made that choice anymore.
And that's good news, isn't it?
It means you're learning, you're healing, and you're becoming.
When you replay the 'what ifs' at 3 a.m., that is when the bad gets in.
The bad is when regret becomes your home.
When you say, "What if I said sorry sooner?"
"What if I didn't waste those years?"
"What if I chose different?"
You know, I lived there for a while.
And believe me, regret makes a terrible roommate.
It steals your sleep and convinces you the past can be rewritten.
Well, here is news...
It can't!
And now we get to the ugly.
Now, the ugly truth is you can't undo it.
You can't un-say the words.
You can't un-spend that money.
And you can't un-miss that moment.
And I'm telling you, I hated that part.
I actually wanted a time machine.
But the ugly also sets you free.
Because once you accept you can't change it,
you can choose what to do today.
What to do now.
What to do this minute.
So, if I knew then, what I know now,
I'd tell myself this.
Apologize where you can.
Make it right where you can.
Then, forgive yourself for the rest.
Regret taught me, but
it doesn't get to define me.
And it doesn't get to define you, either.
THANK YOU so much for walking through all 10 episodes with me on Rooted&Real.
If 'MY THEN' helped 'YOUR NOW',
then it was definitely worth it.
Thank you for listening.
Until next season,
be gentle with yourself.
You are still becoming.
Love you...