When we look back on our lives, there may be years that feel completely wasted. We see ourselves in pain—directionless, inactive, exhausted. Nothing good stands out. No milestones. No clear lessons.
We ask ourselves: Why did I have those years?
We may blame others, but it offers no relief.
We may search for meaning, only to discover there is no rational explanation at all.
Life can simply be hard. Random circumstances can turn everything upside down. Sometimes, there is no deeper reason behind our suffering.
So the question becomes: is there anything we can do?
Looking back does have value, but only when done with an open mind and an open heart. And sometimes, the most honest conclusion is this: there is no meaning to extract. Accepting that is not defeat—it is clarity.
What matters more is something else.
We must ensure that we are not living in misery now. Because five years from today, we may look back and realise this moment was just another lost stretch of time. These realisations only arrive in hindsight. The present keeps us busy, occupied by daily struggle, often too distracted to recognise our own suffering.
Perhaps the greatest favour we can do for ourselves is to pause and ask:
Am I living in misery right now?
And if the answer is yes, then the real work begins—not in explaining the past, but in finding a way out of the present.
