Indeed we are living in ever changing times but we seem convinced that yesterday was 'better' than today. Part of my experience of getting old is a type of incredulity when looking back at the past which is difficult to explain. Did I really do that? Was life so uncomplicated then? I also see my parents and their peers in a different light because the struggles and difficuties they encountered I have lived a hundred times over. Recently I have been dreaming of past loves, friends and acquaintances. Sometimes the dreams are so vivid but when I wake up I remember these encounters only vaguely. As we age we seem to inhabit a vortex of emotions both past and present and mostly we do not understand how happy we are right now. I have recently re-read 'The Incredible Lightness of Being' by Kundera which explores the relationship between Tomas and Teresa during the invasion of Czechoslovakia. I would highly recommend re-reading favourite books at different stages of life. 'Wuthering Heights' for example when devoured as an 18 year old is completely different as each decade passes. Every time we revisit a book we see the common theme of then and now. Who we were before determined our understanding of the passionate Heathcliff and the philandering Tomas. In our latter years we sympathise with both characters because we understand more about the conundrum of life which is both absurd and elegantly simple. Let me expalin. We deliberately complicate our lives ignoring that in the end we require very little of everything to be happy. 'What!', I hear you exclaim. Money, for example, won't make you happy, it merely encourages you to believe you can't live without it. There is an expression in Latin 'Poverty made me a genius'. When you have to innovate in order to survive, you develop other qualities too: courage and understanding both considered 'virtues'. Those who float through life unchallenged rarely achieve either.
Photos copyright SvD.
