Not completely, but sometimes it seems that worlds are so far apart. I'm in Arkansas with my oldest sister's family. Being here is a connection to the past, though I've not ever been here before. The connection may come from simply being in the United States. Or it could be a product of having time to reflect and travel back purposefully. It's probably a combination of the two.
The past I miss tonight is music and experiencing this over conversations and wine with good friends at a small concert or in a car or in a house on Fountain Street. My first natural, humanistic response is, "I want. I want that back. I want that experience again." And though the longing for the entire experience is true (for I do still listen to music and even share music with friends), in a way it underestimates the present and the future. Yes, music isn't a central, pervasive part of my friendships now like it was then. Nor are a lot of other great things which come from experiencing college together. I think that's okay though.
It's okay because that world will come back again. Maybe in a different form - small or large - and probably at a time which I least expect it. Like hearing from old classmates from Sri Lanka after 8 years. Like needing to remember (and surprisingly able to understand) French for a film subtitled in Czech. Like meeting a man who shares the third world experience and has friends connected to Sri Lanka. My mom told me last week or so that she thought of me when she heard at church that every experience we have has the potential to be used in the future. This seems especially true at the moment.
So rather than lamenting for the past, a more positive twist is to look forward to the ways former experience will season today or tomorrow.
