© John A. Tyler
Have you ever given someone a present of money, material, or time and felt later that it was a mistake? They were not properly thankful, or your relationship soured, and that you would not do it again? Even that you wish you could turn back the clock and not have made the mistake? Most of us have been, at one time or another, in this situation. However, it is a waste of time and energy to spend much of our emotions wishing we could turn back the clock. We cannot.

A true gift is made without conditions. You release it to someone else, and then it no longer belongs to you, it has a life of its own.

A gift made with subseqent conditions is not a true gift, it is a form of bargaining, and should be regarded as such.

It is a delicate balance to learn from our own history and mistakes, but not at the same time wasting our emotions and energy wishing we could change the past. We have tasks today and tomorrow that require today’s attention ahead of being sorry that we made a gift that we cannot take back.