The past is part of our story, not the whole of It
Have you ever caught yourself replaying a conversation, wishing you’d said it differently? Or looking back at a decision and wondering where the other road might have led?
We all do it. We return to old moments, hoping that if we think about them long enough, they might somehow change.
The should’ve, would’ve, could’ve of life.
We are human. We get things wrong, react in ways we later regret, make choices we come to understand differently, and sometimes hurt others without meaning to. We learn, we grow, and with time, we see things we couldn’t see before.
And often, it is not only what happened that causes us to suffer, but how we continue to hold on to it. We replay the moment, imagine what should have been, and judge an earlier version of ourselves through the awareness we have today. In trying to rewrite what has already happened, we can create a great deal of our own misery.
The wisdom of the Zen enso, a circle drawn in a single brushstroke, offers a quiet reminder. It is not meant to be perfect. Each stroke is what it is, and once it is made, it stays. It is part of the circle, not the whole of it. It does not need to be undone.
Perhaps this is where the wisdom of the enso meets the wisdom of yoga.
Yoga does not ask us to erase the past. It invites us to understand ourselves more deeply and change our relationship with what has been.
In yoga philosophy, our experiences leave impressions known as sanskaras. Over time, these impressions shape how we think, feel, and respond. Some support us, while others keep us returning to familiar patterns long after the circumstances that formed them have passed.
Through svādhyāya, or self-study, we begin to notice these patterns, including the judgments we carry and the stories we tell ourselves. Through abhyāsa, the practice of returning with sincerity and consistency, we cultivate the ability to pause, observe, and respond with greater awareness. Through vairāgya, non-attachment, we learn to hold our experiences without allowing them to determine everything that comes next.
This is not about pretending we never make mistakes or that our choices have no consequences. Sometimes, we need to apologize, make amends, or do things differently. We can take responsibility for our actions without condemning ourselves endlessly for them. We can acknowledge what we wish we had done differently while extending compassion to the person we were at the time.
We are all learning as we go.
And letting go is not always simple. Some experiences take time to understand. Some hurt more deeply than others. There is no need to force acceptance or rush the process. Sometimes, the practice is simply noticing when we have returned to the same thought yet again, and gently making room for another way of seeing.
Perhaps the wisdom of “no mistakes” is not that everything happens for a reason, or that every choice is the right one. It is that we can learn from what has happened without remaining trapped in what might have been.
Like the enso, our lives hold imperfections, openings, and unfinished edges. Every stroke belongs to the circle, but no single stroke defines the whole.
Peace, Love n Grace
Sampurna
