Sicilian actress awaiting for her cue in a classical Greek tragedy. Photograph by William Albert Allard
A writer should have a diverse source of reading material because information, new perspectives and ideas can come from the strangest of places (I find second hand gossip from my mother the most fun as they’re also the most convoluted). Though, as a rule, one shouldn’t take too much stock in what one reads, especially in tabloids that caters too much to celebrities.
A couple of weeks ago, I came across an article that was about another article in which an actress proclaimed that the words “regret” and “should” are no longer part of her vocabulary. She further explained that she neither like nor agreed with those words. Moreover, she regrets nothing because the moments in her life which “could be considered mistakes” were the moments that she learned from the most. A reader’s comment suggested that she was on to something as “should” and “ought” statements are “bad” as they make one feel guilty (guess he didn’t get my memo).
Sadly, the actress isn’t onto something original as living a life of no regrets as an affirmation of the self isn’t a new concept; and others have stated in much more compelling terms. Nietzsche asked:
“What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, ‘This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence. The eternal hourglass will again and again be turned and you with it, dust of the dust!’ Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse that demon? Or would you answer, ‘Never have I heard anything more divine’?”
It’s a curious question indeed…how does one want to view one’s life?
