Sitting writing this piece on a miserable, chilly and wet October morning,

it is easy to think back to the warm days of summer. In actual fact, they

are not all that long ago, even though the raindrops rolling down the window

beside me make it feel like they were.

But if I really think about it, and really remember the summer just gone,

was it as good as my mind is telling me it was? Sweltering in the car whilst

making those essential journeys, enduring uncomfortable heat whilst trying

to work, and spending many a restless night just trying to get cool enough

to sleep peacefully.

How many times do we hear of the break-up of a disastrous relationship, and

then within weeks or months, one or both parties is keen to rekindle the

partnership, and often, they do. And when they do, it is usually the case

that 'situation normal' resumes after a short period and another dinner

service is placed, fragment by fragment, into the nearest pedal bin.

The latest national crime survey shows crime overall to be down, but no-one

can believe it. Surely things are worse now than they have ever been? Or are

they?

And what about the 'good old days'? Everyone has them, whether it was during

the war, after the war, the '60s, the '70s, your teenage years or whenever.

What was it about them that made them so great? Then, consider the other

things that were happening at the same time. They may not be so memorable,

and certainly won't spring so easily to mind when thinking about the

whatever period was your 'finest hour'. But it was all there and was all

still happening, possibly to a greater degree than the 'good stuff'.

Why is it that as humans, we blank out the bits that are not so appealing

about the past? If you approach a blackbird sitting on your bird table, it

does not remain there in the cosy warmth of knowing that it has not been

attacked by 99.9% of other living things. It remembers vividly the 0.1% who

have tried to, and acts accordingly. The same applies for the rest of the

animal world, generally, perhaps excluding goldfish who many argue can't

remember anything. Mine, however, clearly remembers what is going to happen

when I approach with net in hand, and responds accordingly, usually for

about the next five minutes and much to my frustration!

Perhaps only when the human race uses evolution to adopt this holistic use

of memory, will we be able to effectively use the past to shape the future.

This is as equally relevant to us in our private lives as it is with

national or international issues, both long and short term.

The next time you are reminiscing over the 'good times', just have a closer

look and see if the grass was really greener, particularly if you are using

those memories on which to pave your future!

Updated: 12:23 Tuesday, October 25, 2005