Reflecting on Past Experiences

So, a friend and I were talking about some of the experiences that shaped us and the lessons we've drawn from them. In the middle of our conversation, he asked a question I'd asked myself many times: If you could go back in time, what would you change?

I paused and was decisively reflective. It's a question I have asked myself, and every time I reflect on what I could change, I smile because there are more than a handful of things I would really want to change, more singular events.

But then there’s the other side of the thought: even altering one small moment, something seemingly insignificant, would shift my present and future. I might end up living a completely different reality. I might not even be sitting with him in that exact moment, having that exact conversation.

And deeper still, changing the past wouldn't only erase the difficult memories. It would take the good ones too, the relationships that shaped me, the joyful moments that warmed my life, and the experiences that made it colourful, meaningful, beautiful. Was I truly willing to lose all of that?

As I sat with that realisation, it struck me how easy it is to get caught up in what could've been and overlook what is. This doesn't mean I'm free of regret. There are choices I wish I'd made differently... Decisions that came with consequences I had to live through and learn from.

But instead of rejecting those moments, I've learned to embrace them (the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable). Acknowledging them has helped me cultivate a deeper appreciation for the present and a clearer sense of how to shape my future.

So when he asked what I would change, I finally answered with certainty: talking about some of the experiences that shaped us and the lessons we've drawn.