/!\ for a change, i'll do my best to muster a clear and organized exposition of my mind. /!\
i think an important distinction people don't often make is that between guilt and regret: the first defines a bad decision with an outcome that should've been predictable, the second is a bad decision with an outcome that could've never been foreseen; sometimes one fails to distinguish the two and beats themselves up over an exponential fate: an ancestral plan that had been building up for centuries.
there is a certain jestfulness in (recognizing) regret, it's the feeling that despite even seeming absolute certainty, there is none that can master reality and its insidious machinations; it's the tangible effect that chaos and absurdity has on the soul.
now, guilt is a beast of its own, one i'm very familiar with. not to be confused with shame (a negative view of who you are), guilt (a negative view of what you did) i found not to feel as "merciful" as regret: it's a testament of how misguided one can truly be sometimes, and misguided i am and have always been. neatly put, it's the continuous humiliation and frustration that comes with learning a process and inevitably failing. it always pricks you when you pick yourself up and try yet again, and again, and again; until you can't stand it anymore and just wish for it all to stop.
the only silver lining is that guilt is only as strong as you continue to let it be, and as long as you continue the process of learning.
with that said, hopefully it should be clear why and how to distinguish these two peculiar feelings. 'lest you feel guilty about feeling guilt.
