When something goes wrong in our plans, we replay our mistakes in a loop, as if intense regret could change the past.
It does not.
Consider a little story:
A man mourned the withered sapling that he had failed to water yesterday.
An elder gave him a fresh seed. “The tree you lost yesterday cannot be grown today. But the shade of tomorrow is still in your palm.”
Similarly, in Sanskrit there is a Subhashita (a well-known saying):
गतं न शोचेत् प्रमदां न याचेत् प्राप्तं न जह्यात् समयं न हापयेत् ।
अनागतं च प्रतिपालयेत विविक्तमार्गं प्रतिपद्य विद्वान् ॥
Gataṁ na śocet pramadāṁ na yācet prāptaṁ na jahyāt samayaṁ na hāpayet |
Anāgataṁ ca pratipālayeta viviktamārgaṁ pratipadyate vidvān ||
This means that: ‘A wise person does not grieve over what is gone, nor waste time courting fleeting illusions; they cherish what they have obtained, never lose the present moment, and wisely prepare for what is yet to come.’
What is gone is gone. It cannot be undone. No amount of regret can change that.
The only thing that you are wasting with your constant regret is that you ‘miss watering your seeds’ today too. Because ultimately, the truth remains that our influence and efforts remain only in the present and the now, not in the past or the future.
Focus on your resources and skills for what needs to be done now.
And then start preparing for the future. Because your future rests on what you focus on today.
Don’t mourn the dead sapling. Plant the new seed and start watering.
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