Nostalgia but of a different sort

We are generally advised by wisemen- spiritual gurus, teachers, coaches, orators etc – to live in the present moment as we have no control over the past or the future. While dreaming about good things happening in future is still alright, carrying the baggage of the past can ruin our present. 

However, a friend shared the following beautiful lines by Robert Drake that show our nostalgia or yearning for the past in a completely different light. The lines read:

*Sometimes,*
I feel I want to go back in time… 
_Not to change Things_, but to feel a couple of things twice..

*Sometimes,*
I wish I was a Baby for a while… 
_Not to be walked in the pram_ but to see my Mother’s smile

*Sometimes,*
I wish I could go back to school… 
_Not to become a Child_ but to spend more time with those friends, I never met after school..

*Sometimes,*
I wish I could be back in college… 
_Not to be a Rebel_ but to really understand what I studied

*Sometimes,*
I wish I was a Fresher at my work… 
_Not to do less Work_ but to recall the joy of the first pay cheque.

*Sometimes,*
I wish my kids were younger…. 
_Not because they grew Fast_ but to play with them a bit more.

*Sometimes,*
I feel I still had some more time to live… 
_Not to have a longer Life_ but to know what I could give to others.

Such yearning or nostalgia neither crushes us with burden nor drowns us in any repentance or regret. It actually alerts us about the remaining moments of our life to be savoured with full zest, so that when the present or the future becomes the past, we have nothing to reflect upon.