Past
Do no more than draw lessons from it; think rather of the future
May 5th 2013
Do no more than draw lessons from the past; it is pointless to dwell on it – you have to think of the future. Those who are attached to the past do not progress; they seize up. The elderly keep coming back to what they did when they were young; it is now impossible for them to project themselves into the future. And yet, the future exists for them too, but they do not think about it, and they always tell the same stories from the past. It is understandable, of course, but they should look at children, who talk only of what they will do later, and do their best to imitate them. Being a child means having done with the past. It is the future that counts. And we should all become like children.
We say of some old people – and it’s no joke – that they are lapsing into second childhood. Why is that? Because they have refused to become real children, for whom there is always something new to discover and everything is a source of wonder. Those who are not willing to become children are likely to be forced to one day: they will become senile.