Don’t regret giving it your all. Don’t regret sending those texts that got left on read, or calling to say “let’s try again” after a night out.
Don’t regret knocking on the door, or silently wishing for one more chance. Don’t regret confiding in friends or even reaching out to family, hoping they could help bring back what was slipping away.
Don’t feel bad about the times you cried in front of someone who barely knew you, or teared up on the bus because a song took you back to a moment you shared together.
Don’t regret, even for a second, believing that this might have been the greatest love story of your life. Really, don’t. I’ve been there too: wondering if I should regret it all.
When our hearts break, we do things we might later think of as foolish. We cling, we try, we give everything for a place in someone’s life, even if that space no longer exists. But you know what? There’s no shame in trying, in giving it everything, in hoping against hope that things could work out.
Some people might call it humiliating, and others might think it’s silly or that it lacks self-respect. But that messy, vulnerable side of us: that’s love trying to teach us something. Love helps us understand that others’ feelings don’t always align with ours, and sometimes love even saves us when someone we love says “no.” It’s a lesson that helps us to love better, and in turn, be loved better.
Because eventually, acceptance arrives. We hand it over to time, let things go, and realize that living is about finding peace within ourselves. New love will come along, new stories will unfold. Some even more intense. When we look back, the best feeling is knowing we did everything we could.
So, don’t regret it. There’s no better feeling than looking back and saying, “I tried my best.” You gave it your all, maybe more than you thought possible, but you gave it. Rest easy, because, as the song says, “Those who love most are the happiest.”
