No Regrets

[AutumnWoman]

"Even God can't change the past." -- Unknown

"Regret only leads to depression and perhaps a return to active addiction." -- Unknown

I used to say that my only regret about quitting was that I didn't do it sooner.  My thinking about that has changed.  I now believe that it took what it took for me to quit and stay quit for over five and a half years.  I spent much of my early adulthood brooding and smoking.  Eventually I realized that I wanted more out of life than a negative mindset and bad health.  I needed to be that woman in the smokescreen so I could come to appreciate what life is like when I come out from under it, what I had been missing.  What I stood to gain:  my physical, emotional and spiritual health, mututally beneficial relationships, self-esteem, joy.  I don't think I ever got any joy out of a pack of smokes.  A calming of my nicotine craving, maybe, but desperation is not the same as joy.

What I want to say to you is to value what is in front of your face when you drop the smokescreen as opposed to what is behind you.  Don't cling to the past but don't forget its lessons either.  That way you won't have to go back.