One of our favourite pastimes is reliving the past and dreaming about the future. We replay moments from our past by re-enacting what happened, how we reacted in a situation, and how we might have handled it better. Then we turn to the other side of the story and imagine what the future might look like. Those visions are usually filled with peace and prosperity.
What happens in all this daydreaming is that we miss what is unfolding in the present. We become less than optimal in our work and make silly mistakes. This happens to all of us. I am no different. Even though I know what is right and what needs to be done, I cannot stop my mind from wandering in every direction. In meditation this is known as the monkey mind — the mind leaping from one branch of thought to another.
My memories of the past exist in the form of photographs and the rare videos and audio tapes that have survived the journey of time. Given the choice, I would not want to relive any particular day from the past. The reason is simple. Some days were filled with activity or marked by something wonderful. That does not make the quieter days, when relatively little happened, any less important. Every day and every minute of our past is responsible for where we are today. Remove even a tiny link from that chain and we would not be standing here in the present. All our achievements and accomplishments were built brick by brick, day by day. You stood on a podium one fine day and heard the applause around you only because you had slogged for days and months to reach that moment.
Personally, I would rather cherish every moment of my past than single out any one day and glorify it.