Exhalation

by Ted Chiang

“Four things do not come back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity,”

Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.

Contemplate the marvel that is existence, and rejoice that you are able to do so. I feel I have the right to tell you this because, as I am inscribing these words, I am doing the same.