I didn’t want ...

I could have ... 

If only ...  

Regrets, self-reproach, guilt. We can learn from these and become better people. Or, we can be overwhelmed by them, forever reliving past mistakes. Events unfolding in our present lifetime were set into motion by our thoughts and actions from countless lifetimes ago. In other words, whatever is happening is supposed to happen.

Yes, we’d have better health if we had spent more time easing others’ worries instead of being absorbed in our own.

Yes, we’d be happier if we had the courage to do the right thing in the face of opposition.

Yes, we’d be enjoying more good fortune if we had put others ahead of us.

We didn’t do any of the above. So now we suffer. But suffering need not become a permanent fixture in our lives. Learning cause and effect allows us to understand why we are in our current situation. But don’t stop here. Put our newfound understanding into action! Now!

And we will reap the benefits of a better situation in the future.