REGRET and TIME TRAVEL

I have been contemplating the concept of regret. On of the most popular ways of dealing with regret is the time-travel fantasy. You go back in time, enlightened, and take a different course of action. That fantasy may have a certain satisfaction, but... it also contains a paradox that has a real-life implication as far as my feelings are concerned.

In living through a particular trauma I gained enlightenment. So if I went back in time and changed things, then the trauma would not have occurred and I never would have gained enlightenment, so how could I go back and change it?

So, I can have no regrets and I can assign no blame, unless I am willing to invalidate and betray what I have gained. Now REGRET is a big load of baggage that I have been hauling for years. I can drop it here on the trail, the heaviest item being my 40 volume, hardbound edition of the World Book Series of Time Travel and Regrets Fixed, which also includes the 52 annual updates. Instead I can keep this fortune cookie fortune, which says, “Pain is the price of enlightenment, avoid one, lose the other.” I may still feel bad about things that I have done, but I am lighter and faster, the future should certainly be more enjoyable.