Human nature is such that a person tends to look upon his failures as the sum of his life, but berating self for how life has turned out accomplishes nothing. Where you are, is where you are. The past is forever closed. No amount of dwelling on it can change the present, and no amount of self-flagellation can make you something different.
Typically, we compare ourselves to the world’s standard of success and fret over our perceived shortcomings. Whether we come up short in the pursuit of something good or succeed in doing something wrong, it does not make us failures. It makes us human.
Do not sever your future hope. Take a moment to tell yourself that where you are at in this point in life is acceptable, no matter what your failings or circumstances.
A person should live as if her whole existence were narrowed down to this very day, with no useless regret for the past and no useless worry for the future. She should live this day as if it were her only day—the only day for her to assert all that is best in her, the only day left for her to conquer all that is worst in her.
Imagine a slippery, moss-covered rock protruding slightly from a fast-flowing river. Now, picture yourself standing on that rock. In front of you are similar stones, and the only way to cross the rapid stream is to step one rock at a time. You may not like your location, but your only point of balance lies on the rock beneath you. No amount of griping about your current predicament will change the fact that you are where you are—on a slippery stone, in a dicey predicament. Your best chance of being somewhere else is simply to accept where you stand and slowly, persistently take one sure step at a time, rock by rock. With each step, comes the assurance of a future hope.
–We expect results from ourselves, but since results may lie outside our control, they are not the best test of true living. Whether success or failure, there is but one question to bravely and honestly ask yourself, “How will this current condition affect me?” Will the situation make you truer, better, or nobler? The answer is determined entirely by you.
The saying by Agur has the weight of divine assurance. By God’s help, let’s turn our past failures and wasted opportunities into hope and confidence for now and the future.
See also entries 20 and 24.
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