Which I guess is about living in the past, or looking back to the past and only remembering the good bits. For example, if I think about Summer holidays when I was a child, the sun is always shining and I am always happy.
Whereas actually, if I think back objectively, rather than just being nostalgic about it, I can definitely remember any number of rainy days in Wales, when we spent our time indoors, playing board games. Which was enjoyable in another way, but not wall-to-wall sunshine.
Sometimes, nostalgia is harmless. Looking back at happy memories is harmless. But when we look back at the past and re-write it, it can be dangerous. I can never hear the phrase "the good old days" without a shudder. Because they weren't... The good old days are a product of selective amnesia, that we fall for at our peril.
Politicians are masters (and mistresses) of the nostalgia game. Current policies are advocated, because they will bring us back to a glorious past. Which never existed. Not ever.
The only time that is real is the present moment. All else is either memory, or anticipation. So both have an element of fantasy about them, because memory is sometimes faulty and anticipation is often idealised, rarely realistic.
I wonder, how many present moments do we skate over, not appreciating them, because we are too busy either yearning back to a fictionalised past or hoping for an idealised future?
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