The greatest unfixable regret in life...?

Question

What is a huge regret that you have that you simply can't do anything about fixing? (A mistake you made in the past)

I'll go first. I used to work at a psychic hot line reading tarot cards. One night this 76 year old man called in. He had just lost one of his legs due to diabetes. He had no living family left, no friends, no support system to speak of. He was scared and very lonely. He was eating cat food cause it was cheaper than regular food and his landlord had put an eviction notice on his door. He wanted to know his future.

Like the dutiful employee I was, I keep this man on the phone with me for 59 minutes, the maximum allowable call for a 900 number according to federal regulations. We charged $4.95 a minute for that phone call.
When I hung up the phone, I put my face in my hands and cried. My boss gave me a raise because my call average went up so high. I quit that job a couple of weeks later because the guilt got to me.

There is absolutely nothing I can ever do to take back what I did to that man. I accept complete blame and responsibility for it.

YOUR TURN.

He never gave me his name and the call center didn't have a trace on the phone number. This was several years ago.

Sorry penguin I wasn't meaning to shout, I put it in all caps because a lot of people don't read the whole question.

Teddy Bear - It was the guilt from all the calls that made me quit. And at the time I believed that Tarot card readings were real. (I don't now)

Piggy - share, share, please share! Share or I'll stick you like a...oh wait a minute never mind. =]

Thank you to everyone who shared with me, I hope we can all find forgiveness.

Answer 1

"roll back the curtain of mem'ry now and then,
show me where you brought me from
and where I could have been
remember I'm human and tend to forget
so Remind me Remind Me dear Lord"
Dottie Rambo if memory served me correctly

While the words to this song are very poignant and true, we sometimes need to forgive ourselves. I think of many things I've done in my past: or the devil reminds me. I am no longer that person. The worst thing I can't take back? It is a tossup between the way I "escaped reality" with drugs and booze, or the way I treated women when I got the chance to become a user and no longer just being used by women. I always had a crush on somebody from the other side of the tracks. Every time all they did was use me and abuse me. Always humiliating me. Years later I was using drugs and using and abusing women/girls.

While I can't take it back or change any of the things I did in the past-and I need not forget the past, only forgive myself as He has forgiven me. Today my desire is to sit at the right hand of Christ.

Moving forward- the greatest regret I can now have is to let the past destroy the present. "This is the day", not yesterday; I cant change the past. Not tomorrow I can only influence the future to a certain point. This is the day I will rejoice ands be glad in.

Having said all that-"the greatest regret in life some Christians have is to never have sung their song before they die" Tony Fitzgerald. This quote really woke me up. May we and all the church wake up. Amen
P.S. I personally hate long answers but I just couldn't say this in 50 words or less.

Answer 2

I have had several regrets during my life as everyone seems to have. However my greatest regret is that I refused a position within an area of the music industry, that at the time I thought was a go nowhere situation. If I had taken this opportunity, today I would be a multi millionaire and would have been far more popular than I am today. Now the popularity, I could have done without. But the wealth was always something that I regretted missing out on. LWH Central Indiana at the time. Located in Alabama today.

Answer 3

I know how guilty that would make you feel! But if things were that bad for him, most likely he didn't care about the phone bill. If he wasn't going to have a place to live, he wouldn't need a phone. He was desperate and needed to talk to someone. At least you have a conscious. In your own way, you did help him by talking to him. I'm sure he was aware of the excessive charges when he made the call.

I didn't think we were here to judge people, but try to answer their questions?? A good philosophy to live by is to never say never!

Worse thing I did was tell a lie at work that someone close to me died so I could get time off with pay. I used a relative that I loved dearly, but she had been dead already several years.

Answer 4

When I was 16 I ran away from home (this was 15 years ago). My dad had died 7 years prior. I got into all sorts of mischief, of course. My mom didn't report me because she thought I just needed to blow off steam and would come home. She knew where I was until the family I was staying with moved. I was finally caught after 13 months when the girl who encouraged me to run away told my mom where to find me. I truly regret putting my mom through that kind of anguish and for so long. I seriously messed up her health from the stress and ended up putting my life on "pause" for several years due to the bad habits I had picked up while gone.
I live with my mom now, and even though she doesn't mention it anymore, I can see the reflection of the damage I have done daily. She now has a fear of loneliness she never had before.

I have done other bad things, some I would never discus on a public forum, but this is the one I regret the most

Answer 5

I regret having married the man I did at so young an age. I married because that's what I was 'supposed' to do. I married the person I did because he was an OK guy and was fun to be with. I had no idea what real love was until many years later, after two kids and a painful divorce... and then a few years. I have children with him, and, because I do, I was unable to persue an amazing relationship with an incredible man. (And please, Don't give me crap - I'm opening up here. I love and cherish my children. I fell in love with someone who didn't want children. Chose my kids. Not up for discussion)
I wish I had waited to marry someone that I had a spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical connection with. Three of four works for some, and isn't hideous, but having all four makes life amazing!

Answer 6

Good for you that you have scruples, even though it seems it took an extreme thing like that to prove it to you..

Just curious, was it OK to ripoff the other people you gave readings to for 5 bucks a minute? Or just this one poor guy? Is it OK to rip off people who can afford it?

I did something illegal that scared the hell out of someone when I was 15, can't say it here, it was illegal.. I deeply regret it, but I think that regret has made me a better person

Last ent. I am not one to judge.... believe me on that one

Answer 7

one of my most painful regrets that I have made in life was that I told my best friend my true feeling for him. He was the first guy I ever fall for, and because of him I found out my true sexual orientation. The more look back, the more I hated myself for telling him the true. It were best friend before that, and it was everything that i ever wish for. He was ignoring for a week after i told him, he been suspecting me already ever since we become close friend. As far as stupid i am, I have no right to mad at him, because it was all my fault. I shouldn't have that feeling for him, for i know he can't love me back. I'm glad that we still live together this school year, but I know that our friendship is not like before, we can't openly talk to each other anymore, and each day I am trying to forget him. I wished that I didn't tell him my feeling, we could have still best buddy.

Answer 8

My dear
look at your mistake positively; consider yourself a little wiser. Our mistakes do not stop the world- we live with tragedy all around us. However, by rising above our shortcoming we gain our maturity which makes us more careful. When you are involved in a busy life like most of us do, sometimes we are fooled, or pressured or unthoughtful - that's life. When I think about my regrettable mistakes now I put them down to my ignorance and immaturity. Nowadays, I still have my temptations that can lead me into great strife, so I think more carefully about the consequences; I attempt to detach myself from my emotions and let my brain determine how I aught to act justly and unselfishly.

Peace

Answer 9

We all have regrets. . and we would all do some things differently if we had the gift of foresight. .

It sounds to me, like you have character. . That is a very enviable trait. . There are so few people that have character these days. . It's easy to make money if you have no scruples, and boy there are a lot of people that fit in that group.

what would I do differently. . ?

Tough question. . Gone to college earlier, picked a different profession, waited a bit more and finished college before having children. . Dumped the ex sooner. . .

Very tough and thoughtful question though. . .

Answer 10

My most unfixable regret, is the fact i was not more adventuresome, not willing to take more chances, always staying "safe" and now, i am just a little too old to do some of the things i wanted to do.

I really don´t see a good reason for you too feel bad about that man, he needed some one to talk to, and you were there, you probably helped him more then you´ll ever know. He said he was about to be kicked out of his apt. and was eating cat food, i don´t think he was worried about the phone bill, or if he even intended to pay it.
The most important thing was, he wanted to talk to some one, and you were there to listen, who knows, he may have been thinking of suicide, and because you were there, you may have given him the courage to go on living.