We sometimes experience vivid feelings of nostalgia, of longing for the past. In these moments, we leave the present and go somewhere better. These moments come. Then go. And once again, we find ourselves in the present.
These experiences create an overwhelming sense of longing for the past. The past always seems better than the present. But that is not quite right. Longing for the past really means desiring what the past represents—seemingly better days. And yet while the past may have provided better moments, it was never the best.
The past like the present can never be the best. Things move from order to disorder—from ideal to less ideal. We may be happy when we meet our spouse then sad when we lose our spouse. The joy of the past cannot sustain us because it is momentary and changing.
It decays.
