The good old days...

"This world is going too fast.

Improvements, politics, reform, religion - all fly!

Railroads, steamers, packets, race against

time and beat it hollow.....

Oh, for the good old days of heavy post coaches and

speed at the rate of six miles an hour!"

Philip Hone, 1844

An Empire of Wealth

Shane shared with me this excerpt from his recent history read. Philip Hone was born in 1781 and was having a difficult time adjusting to the technological advances of the 1800's - trains were then going a whopping 20 miles an hour! Many still feared you may spontaneously combust if a human went much faster than that. Wow. Now Shane sits track side watching cars race at 200mph. The world sure is a faster place...

According to An Empire of Wealth, the quote above was the first recorded use of the phrase "the good old days". For hundreds of years, we have all been reminiscing a simpler, more comfortable time. With each major change, generation after generation embraces the fear that all that once was pure and simple will now be convoluted and unholy. We all say the new changes aren't necessary and are frivolous. And then we start incorporating the change in our life... and suddenly, without warning.... the thing that was once deemed unnecessary is not only a regular staple in our day to day living... but, we can not even fathom a world without such a necessary tool. And the cycle of change continues...

The phrase "the good old days" seems to be focused on fear... and maybe even a dash of resentment for the current pace of time. The truth is that some things in the world do function at a necessary fast pace. I am sure the business man on Wall Street would have little patience for my slow Southern drawl and need to use many adjectives to describe my excitement for the day.

The other part of that truth, however, is that the natural world still functions on a slow, even, perfectly planned pace. A baby still has nine months in the womb for optimal development. A seed still does not grow and bloom over night. The high tides at the beach last as long as necessary to complete it's mission. Nature does not pay much attention to the fast pace world, it only focuses on perfectly fulfilling it's individual calling.

And so it is with us...

Live the good days today! Don't blame your disappointments or lack of satisfaction on the growing number of changes in the world. Instead focus on your calling, your pure and simple nature - on the things that never change. "The good old days" are not lost to us unless we close our eyes to it.