No regrets - is it even possible? - Ep 3

Is it actually possible to live a life with no regrets? Or is it just one of those things people say to sound like they've got it sorted?Peta calls bullshit. Gently. With love. And then she names her own.This episode opens with Peta's working definition of the Queenager era. The midlife woman who finds herself in her 50s with menopause changing her brain chemistry, her tolerance for nonsense, and her willingness to put herself first. Coo-coo ca-choo from Malibu makes a guest appearance courtesy of Dr Mindy Pelz. So does the pass the parcel theory of personal development. So does the question of whether the next forty years of your life are actually being prepared for right now, in this exact moment.And then she gets to the regrets.The one about wishing she'd spent more time with her kids when they were little. The one firmly in the TMI column about her lazered pussy bush and the sneaky grey hairs that no laser can touch. The big one about not taking drama in year twelve. Not following the singer she could have been. Not backing herself the way Lainey Wilson backed herself from the very beginning.There's also a cabaret story that you genuinely have to hear out loud. Front row, no exit, courage and passion high, talent low, plus a nervous giggle threatening to ruin everything. Peta wrestles with judgement, with compassion, with the question of whether the people on that stage were braver than she's ever been.The closing thought is the one to sit with. We need to know where our moral boundaries are. And maybe we won't know what that line is until we cross it.Maybe regrets aren't failure. Maybe they're the map. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit petabastian.substack.com