Past-Tense

Experience ONLY matters if we learn something from it.

Wisdom is the direct, downstream (possible) effect of experience. The best chance we have of gaining wisdom is to reflect (look back and think back) on the stuff we've lived through.

That wisdom-producing reflection is best focused on our being able to take an objective look at the events, decisions, performance, and relationships that make up our personal history.

As we look back, our attention need not be on regret and commiseration and self-pity, but rather on how best to use the experiences of our past to make ourselves better today...and tomorrow...and next year.

And, it's always nice if we have some trusted others with which we can safely talk through what we have learned from those experiences. 

Our past need not make us tense. We can use it as a springboard to betterness. 

Experience ONLY matters if we learn something from it.