“I am resigned to the past, attentive to the present, and hopeful for the future.”

What is done is done. The universal chain of causation has done its work, steered by destiny. To lament fate is to reject the unfolding disclosure of the Perfect Being implicit in the story of the universe in all of its varying episodes. Wisdom gently urges acquiescence to the perpetual flow of existence.

Acceptance of the past is one thing; lethargy is something else. What is done is done, but there is more to be done, and the time is now. This precise moment will never come again. Each instant calls for a new appraisal of the manifestation of the Hidden. The prophet Abraham was known to pray each morning, “O God, this is a new creation!”

On the horizon lies a future that gradually materializes as we approach it. To look to the future with hope is to walk with certain steps. Hope is trust in the kindness of the Creator, and the process of making oneself transparent to that kindness. Hope does not mean ignoring dangers. It means seeing both problems and prospects as steppingstones on the path that leads home.