If you could relive one day from your past, which day would it be and why?
If I could relive one day from the past, I honestly wouldn’t choose any—whether joyful or painful. I believe the past is best left as a teacher, not a destination. What was destructive, I release; what was constructive, I strive to carry forward and even improve. To dwell in yesterday is to risk dimming the brightness of today, and that simply isn’t who I am.
Just last week, during my volunteer rounds at the hospital, I met a patient who had become a Buddhist nun in an attempt to escape the weight of her history. She spoke of her past as a debt she was trying to repay through devotion. Yet, despite her religious commitment, she did not seem genuinely at peace. Her eyes held resignation more than joy.
That encounter reminded me that revisiting the past—even with the best intentions—can trap us in old wounds if our inner world remains unchanged. Religion, rituals, or external practices are not guaranteed salves for the soul. True contentment begins within. As the ancient wisdom says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23). That is where healing truly starts—not in the replaying of days gone by, but in the cultivation of a present, grounded, and thankful spirit.
en yan hua fang 