Attitude

It's been popular for self-help and spiritually oriented books for years to borrow a concept from Asian, particularly Buddhist, thinking. We’re supposed to live in the present, don’t think about what’s past because we can’t do anything about it and, likewise, don’t worry about the future because we can’t possibly know for certain what the future holds. It’s supposed to give us a calmer life.

That is a good attitude to have, at least most of the time. There are, however, exceptions. No, we can’t go back and fix something we goofed up in the past. We can’t take back words we said that hurt someo...