How much time is lost in useless regrets;
I have made a fool of myself —
even done something wrong —
wasting time
instead of going back straight to God
with an act of contrition.
Never go back on the past.
Don't stop,
thinking over something foolish
you have done or said
and regretting it.
We are very poor creatures,
and there is nothing so wise
as to live in the present.
Another fruitful waste of time
is day dreaming:
holding imaginary conversations,
or fancying ourselves in positions
where we play a very satisfactory part.
It softens the mind.
Another is fussing.
Fussing never saved time.
A very celebrated surgeon,
on the point of performing a critical operation,
is said to have addressed the students about him with:
"Now, gentlemen, don't let us hurry,
because we have no time to lose."
There are some people who are never quite self-possessed —
always in a flurry.
You know the saying,
"If you want a letter answered,
write to a busy man."
These people hurry to Mass,
hurry to meditation,
hurry to breakfast,
hurry all day long.
A saint couldn't remain a saint
under those conditions.
Hurry is an enemy to the interior life.
- from Confidence in God
printed by Passionist Missionaries