When Will We Acknowledge That We Can’t Go Back to What Was?

No matter what we might desire — we can’t go back. Ever.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Lots of people like to think back to some time or another that they really loved.

It’s not important what it was, but it’s something that they recall was good. There is nostalgia and longing to return.

Lots of people get into this. But it comes with a lot of problems — not the least of which is the impossibility of going back at all.

Alan Watts said,

“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.”

What does that mean? To me, it means that only now, the present, is real — ergo, we can’t go back to what was.

To quote Einstein,

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

Simply put — we cannot go back to what was.

And frankly, most of how we recall what was has been altered by time, bias, prejudice, and all other…