Nostalgia
Ecclesiastes 7:10:
Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.In light of my previous post, I've been feeling very nostalgic recently. It becomes very depressing, in fact, since the focus is on what has happened - events that cannot be regained regardless of one's efforts. I found this verse in Ecclesiastes a couple years ago and found it particularly insightful. I like the version I found in my wife's bible (NLT):
Don't long for "the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than today.I find it's true that we tend to forget the bad things of the past (maybe not the really bad things - but most of the "normal" bad things we do forget), and cling onto our good experiences when we aren't enjoying the present moments. This can be quite disorienting, and intellectually dishonest, to say the least. I remember a time early on in college where I was motivated beyond measure to do many things - mostly politically oriented. I loved my life at that time. The problem is that I tend to forget that, one, it came as a result of a very hard (for me, at least) breakup with my first real girlfriend, and, two, during that time my grades suffered severely. So while I felt good, my life really wasn't that great. God used that time of my life to prepare me for the next step, not to keep me where I was. When I truly analyze it, I wouldn't want to be back there, even though I have many feelings of fondness for that time.
The point is that dwelling on the past because you miss it is a futile task, and brings no benefit to anyone. Both the ESV and NASB translate the second line in the verse as,
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.Perhaps I'm seeking happiness by remembering past experiences. But unless I'm trying to gain wisdom in this, I'm wasting my time. Remembering the past is good only so far as it affects the future.
The bible clearly states that all things will be brought into account, whether good or bad. All things of the past will be dealt with appropriately so that all may "move on", so to say. Although God is obviously concerned that we understand and know the past (case in point: the bible has a bit of history in it), he means it for both his and our good, so that we may learn and grow (Romans 15:4).
So I should probably stop reminiscing. It's not good. But I do miss things of the past. And that can be hard to get over, especially if one feels lonely and discouraged in the present.
posted by Chris Hill @ 9/07/2006 06:11:00 PM
14 comments
14 Comments:
I didn't want to put this in the main body, but apparently I'm allergic to clindamycin (an antibiotic). I discovered this in my unending search for becoming unsick with uncompetent doctors. Go figure...
I love you Christopher! You are a wonderful husband to me and I am praying for you. Thank you for being the man that you are. I love you!
Thanks for the encouragement, wife! I know you feel similarly right now, which is aggravated by us living in a new situation with very little past where we live. Anyway, I love you too! Thanks for the words.
Chris,
I think that is a very good verse and have spent some time thinking about it too. It seems to be a natural human trait to look at certain times of the past in such a way as to only remember the good and to ignore the bad. This almost causes an idolization of certain times of the past. Manvel was a great year, but when I'm honest about everything I see I was declining in a lot of ways during that time. The difficulties experienced are forgotten in favor of the good things. Why is it often a challenge to see good in the present but not in the past?
I'm looking forward to seeing you two.
From Pascal:
We never keep to the present. We recall the past; we anticipate the future as if we found it too slow in coming and were trying to hurry it up, or we recall the past as if to stay its too rapid flight. We are so unwise that we wander about in times that do not belong to us, and do not think of the only one that does; so vain that we dream of times that are not and blindly flee the only one that is. The fact is that the present usually hurts. We thrust it out of sight because it distresses us, and if we find it enjoyable, we are sorry to see it slip away. We try to give it the support of the future, and think how we are going to arrange things over which we have no control for a time we can never be sure of reaching.
Let each of us examine his thoughts; he will find them wholly concerned with the past or the future. We almost never think of the present, and if we do think of it, it is only to see what light it throws on our plans for the future. The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means, the future alone our end. Thus we never actually live, but hope to live, and since we are always planning how to be happy, it is inevitable that we should never be so.
He is so smart that he makes me happy, which contradicts his last statement, which makes him not smart, which makes me unhappy, which makes him correct and smart, and therefore I am stuck in a paradox from which there is no escape.
Quick, Jordan! Get out of there!
Those are good words. I remember reading that - or something else like that - from Pascal.
I'm hoping my day long work of getting rid of spyware has been successful... There's still one .dll that keeps renaming itself and never leaving, but I have a whole bunch of programs running right now to trap him if he tries anything.
And as soon as I posted that it did something. Ah! I can't get rid of this crap. Help!
Now are you really nostalgic about your bachelor days in Manvel? Remember the gigantic war sign (to the shagrin of Renee), Erik doing the Iraqi guy dance, how the girls next door often made you dinner, and best of all, the path of love between our houses? The bible, of course, is right in that it is unwise to dwell on the past as though it was only filled with good things. However, fond memories can give you a lift when you're down and are surely a blessing from God. There were good times in the past and they will come again. Sorry to hear you are still sick. Weren't you maybe going to get your tonsils out? The future clinician in me is curious about your symptoms. From your posts it sounds like you have a swollen, sore throat. That is horrible that it's so bad that you need painkillers. Do you have other symptoms? If you were only a dog, maybe I could figure this out... In all seriousness, I hope you feel better soon. I'm praying for you!
Sam,
If I was a dog, you could fix me, as long as that doesn't entail "fixing" me, cause then I would be really pissed off. I was given prednisone (a steroid) to help with the inflamed tonsils. This drug has worked wonders. I took my last does yesterday, and feel almost back to normal. I'm hoping it doesn't come back, though, now that I'm off it.
Ah, you remind me of such wonderful Manvel times. I do miss all those experiences... and Wade too - he was funny. The best part of that time was that feelings of loneliness were rare. Although now that I look back on it after being married, there was still that deeper loneliness in my life that only a spouse could fill (a woman shaped hole in my heart). Regardless, being around such wonderful people did bring me joy and happiness. Although I'm sure there were many bad times that I can't remember right now, since just like I said before, we tend to remember the good and forget the bad. I'm only going on feelings as I write this.
I think it's good to remember the past for the sake of its enjoyment. The problem is when the past is longed for. Doing that is like coveting your neighbor's possessions, or lusting after his wife. These are things that you cannot have. To desire them, then, is to be self destructive. I can appreciate my neighbor's house, wife, etc., just as I can appreciate my past. But to long for these things is destructive.
Lastly, I think I fixed the crap on my computer with a program called "Look2Me - Destroyer". If anyone has Look2Me adware on their computer, let me know, cause this fixed problems that no other commercial software could.
Glad to hear you're better. I was on prednisolone (also a steroid) for my bee-sting reaction this summer. Did they put you on prednisone because they thought you were allergic to something (besides the clidimycin)? It is a wonder-drug but dangerous if you are on it too long and the doses need to be tapered. Yes, Wade did make things more interesting. Hopefully he's doing something other than sitting on the couch. Oh, and I wouldn't "fix" you unless you were a dog :).
jordan: that is one of my favorite pascal passages...
it is wonderful (and rare) to read something and find it both novel and true. but he manages to do it well and often.
and chris: i wish you well in your present struggle. you have made a massive and challenging life transition - it seems that God meets us most easily in those moments. be blessed.
This is for Sam, since she wants to know. The rest of you probably don't:
Basically, I was sick for 3 weeks and wasn't getting better. My tonsils were huge with white crap on them and I couldn't swallow without being in extreme pain. I kept getting fevers and kept going into the doctor. They kept giving my ibuprofen and tylenol, but it wasn't working much at all. FINALLY, they gave me prednisone to help stop the swelling. Somehow, it cleared everything up. They gave me 5 days of 80mg/day worth. The last dose was on Saturday, so we'll see how I'm doing tomorrow. My tonsils seem all cleared up right now, but I'm still feeling a little weak. Who knows... maybe I had/have mono. They did 3 tests (and like 5 strep tests) and they were all negative. They never diagnosed me as being allergic to "the clind" (as I now affectionately call it), so I'm going to have to make sure that gets in my record somehow. It wasn't a bad reaction at all. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be bad in the future.
I hope this has sufficiently scratched the pharmaceutical information itch you had.
Oh, and Wade works at Walmart still. I think he's still finishing up school. We should go throw a party for him at his house! I'll coordinate with Erik...
Thank you, I am satisfied. I hope you stay better!
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