Past
"Nostalgia is possibly the greatest of the lies that we tell ourselves. It is the glossing of the past to fit the sensibilities of the present. For some, it brings a measure of comfort, a sense of self and of source; but others, I fear take these altered memories too far, and because of that, paralyze themselves to the realities about them.
How many people long for that 'past, simpler and better world', I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler, and better, and not the world about them?
Nevertheless, nostalgia is a necessary thing, I believe, and a way for all of us to find peace in that we have accomplished, or even failed to accomplish. At the same time, if nostalgia precipitates actions to return to that rosy-painted time, particularly in one who believes his life to be a failure, then it is an empty thing; doomed to produce nothing but frustration and an even greater sense of failure.
Even worse, if nostalgia throws barriers in the path toward evolution, then it is a limiting thing indeed."
-Drizzt Do'Urden
How many people long for that 'past, simpler and better world', I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler, and better, and not the world about them?
Nevertheless, nostalgia is a necessary thing, I believe, and a way for all of us to find peace in that we have accomplished, or even failed to accomplish. At the same time, if nostalgia precipitates actions to return to that rosy-painted time, particularly in one who believes his life to be a failure, then it is an empty thing; doomed to produce nothing but frustration and an even greater sense of failure.
Even worse, if nostalgia throws barriers in the path toward evolution, then it is a limiting thing indeed."
-Drizzt Do'Urden