Nostalgia lies

When we remember things that have happened in the past, we often overcompensate based on either the story we want to tell or the story we want to believe.

If we want a positive story, we give a positive spin to what had happened. We remember the moments things happened and the good feeling that came out of it.

We remember the hardship, the difficult parts, and we smile because we are convinced it made us better.

If we want to tell a different story, we interpret the past within the context of the story we want to tell. We remember how that hardship led to a fall. We talk about how even the good times weren’t that good.

The past happened. Our recollection of it will be different. Some scenes get blurred out. Some get magnified. Some playback are noir and grey, while others are in radiant colours.

It’s lovely to look back and see where we’ve been and who we were.

As we do, it’s important to remind ourselves that our brains are actively filtering and reshaping our interpretation of events to align with whatever is important to us now.

Or as my friend keenly reminds us, the past is not true.