“We get too soon old and too late smart.” (Source unknown, but probably a person with some hard-fought and late-won wisdom.)

“It is never too late to become the person you always wanted to be.” (A twelve-step saying.)

Here is the reading that provoked this post:

“Thursday, March 18

Oh, that one could learn to learn in time!
—Enrique Solari

A mark of genuine change, after the pleasure of newfound growth, may be the regret a man feels that he didn’t learn sooner. When we learn something new, we see how it could have made our life better at an earlier time. We regret being stubborn, immature, or impulsive. Now we see our mistakes in a new light and it hurts. This is one of the pains of change. Some people turn away from growth because they refuse to tolerate the pain of honest hindsight.

We need to face these regrets, but not indulge in them. We take a bow to the past and move on to live in the only place we can – the present. We can acknowledge our guilt and remorse and then turn them over to the care of God. We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it. Healthy recovery means an ever lighter load of regrets. Getting stuck in guilt over past deeds only repeats our mistakes by failing to use our learning today.

May I acknowledge and let go of my grief’s and regrets so I can attend to life here and now.” (From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men) ©1986, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. I was especially struck by the sentence, “This is one of the pains of change. Some people turn away from growth because they refuse to tolerate the pain of honest hindsight.”)

I have decided that regretting wasted timing is wasting time.

Wait a minute! Isn’t that a tautology? Isn’t it like saying, “Water is water”?

Why, yes. As a matter of fact, it is a tautology.

According to Professor Google, here is what a tautology is:

“tau·tol·o·gy

/tôˈtäləjē/

noun

the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style (e.g., they arrived one after the other in succession ).

. . .

a phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words.

plural noun: tautologies

LOGIC

a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form.”

(From the website https://www.google.com/search?q=define+tautology&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS844US844&oq=define+tautology&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l9.6888j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8, accessed 03-18-2021)

I am afraid that my sentence “I have decided that regretting wasted timing is wasting time” does not even rise (or stoop?) to the level of a tautology. I didn’t even use different words to say the same thing. I used the same words to say the same thing.

But notice the second meaning of the word “tautology”— “a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form.” I did not know about this aspect of the word, and I deeply regret that I didn’t learn it when I was young. (Oops!)

Here is the main point of this rambling, etymological post: If I am regretting not learning to live more wisely when I was young, I am simply ignoring God’s call to live well in the Eternal Now. And such regret is simply perpetuating past stupidity.

Dear ones, the sun is about to peak over the eastern horizon. Will it see me facing this new day with courage, hope, and attention to the present moment? Or will it shine on one who is continually staring at the darkness of his own past?

In the Church of England Book of Common Prayer, there is a part of the morning liturgy that I love a great deal. Here ‘tis:

“The night has passed and the day lies open before us;

let us pray with one heart and mind:

(Silence may be kept)

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,

so may the light of your presence, O God,

set our hearts on fire with love for you;

now and for ever. Amen.”

Yes! The day does indeed lie open before us! God, set our hearts on fire with love for you!