“our past is not the thing that matters so much in this world as what we intend to do with our future”

Acquiring humility calls for the rejection of both guilt—the paralyzing, harsh judgment of the failure to live up to the standard—and complacency—the reinterpretation of the standard, lowering it to suit personal comfort and preferences. The Guardian’s words that 'our past is not the thing that matters so much in this world as what we intend to do with our future' help us to overcome feelings of guilt. And we can avoid complacency by always acknowledging the truth of the divine standard raised by Bahá’u’lláh, upholding it under all circumstances, and refusing to compromise it with the commonly accepted standards of our time."
 (Shoghi Effendi, quoted in Paul Lample, Creating a New Mind, page 15)