No 35.

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side.
Song: High Hopes
Album: The Division Bell

Have you ever looked back at the past and wished that things would go back to how they were, though you knew they never could? Or held up the present or the near future and, in comparing it to the past, found it wanting?

Dwelling on the past in that way is never a good thing to do. The knowledge that life was better in the past leads to being unhappy with how it is at the moment. Before too long you could be caught in the vicious circle of getting into depression, which makes life worse, which gets you even more down. It's not constructive, either. Looking back doesn't help you to improve the present; it just highlights how far you've still got to go.

Forget the lush green on the far side of that burning bridge. Instead, concentrate on cultivating the brown, wilting environment around you so that it becomes as green as you can make it. Only once you are happy in the present should you look back to see if it compares well with the past. If it does, great. If not then, surely, if you've improved things this far, you can keep on encouraging them to grow and improve.