Ein Tugendlich Pfliecht

From my Notebook XII:

März 10, 2008-
Often as I am tired I find myself beginning to wonder, in retrospect, about decisions I have made. Questioning them, specifically. Revisiting again and again the mistakes and successes, but mostly mistakes, of my past.
What if I had asked earlier? What if I had done x different, or chosen y instead? Would that have fixed my current problem, or made it worse? Would I be happier? Can I ever fix it? Would my life be better now if I had chosen differently?

But I stop myself tonight.

Virtue does not wonder about what might have been. It sees what is, and though it need not be happy, accepts the present with quiet dignity. In this, there is honor. In doubtful retrospective, there is only confusion and retrograde growth.