There are some little things. Things that may seem small at first but grow bigger and bigger. Eventually, they start gnawing at our lives, ruining every moment.
One of those things is like a bottomless pit, once you fall into it, there’s no way out! It sticks to us more and more every time we use it. After a while, we realize that it has become a part of us.
The things that come to mind right now are probably significant and harmful. However, no, the thing we’re talking about is just a word. It’s short. It consists of only five letters. Although it shouldn’t be underestimated.
That word actually carries a bit of greed, a bit of regret, and the trace of laments for the past. A person achieves something, but because a better option hasn’t come along, they start a sentence with that word and end up wasting what they have gained. They express their regrets. They leave once again estranged from the past. As they use it, it starts to nest in their mouths.
I call it the “forbidden word.” We don’t like to harbor it around here because we neither want to be greedy nor to destroy our beautiful memories.
We take an exam and receive the grade that corresponds to our efforts. At first, we are quite happy, but after a while, the forbidden word insidiously approaches us and tries to take away our happiness. It encourages us to desire more, to be greedy.
When everything is going well, it suddenly finds a void within us and catches us off guard, at our most vulnerable moment. It brings up memories that we don’t like, that upset us, or contain regrets.
Yet, it is so evident that it doesn’t bring any benefit. It is for these reasons that this word is always cunningly waiting for an opportunity. It plans to fill our lives with complaints and sorrows.
We won’t allow it to win. How is it possible to feel sad or regretful for material things we have lost? Did we acquire them with our own power? Did we truly deserve them?
Yes, this word is very cunning, leading us to unhappiness and regret, but we can still say stop to it. One of the things to do is gratitude. When gratitude emerges in all its splendor, the forbidden word retreats. It realizes that it cannot contend with the feeling of gratitude. Thus, we free ourselves from the forbidden word and reach the joy of gratitude.
The forbidden word has an exception. If it is used against mistakes and wrongdoings, and if we learn from them and make changes, this word brings us an advantage. When we use it to seek forgiveness, the prohibition is lifted, and it benefits us.
Now we know the solution and what needs to be done. So, let’s not hesitate, let’s get to work. Let’s remove the forbidden word from our lives or use it in its proper sense. Let’s learn from the past, but let’s not dwell in it. Let’s ask for forgiveness for our mistakes and make changes within ourselves. Let’s think multiple times before doing something or saying something so that we won’t have regrets.
Remember that “The greatest ‘I wish…’ to make one seized with remorse is to give one’s last breath as being devoid of faith.”[1]
[1] M. Fethullah Gülen, “In Order Not to Feel Remorse When It Is Too Late”
