Workings of the human mind

Scientists suggest that the past often feels more appealing because of how our memories work: our minds tend to filter out the bad and hold onto the good, a phenomenon known as "rosy retrospection."

When we feel the weight of our limits, we start reaching toward idols to imitate, goals to chase, places to explore, people to meet. What we’re really chasing is a sense of immortality or infinity, something that lives longer than we ever will. We want to be remembered long after we’ve left a conversation, the company, the world.

Or maybe the past feels sacred simply because it's where life has happened — while the future remains the unknown, where death inevitably waits.