Midway through the seventh chapter of Ecclesiastes, the writer observes that, "Do not long for the former days, for it is not from wisdom that you do this."  We could interpret this verse in a number of ways, really, as its implications will vary for each of us.  Yet one thing we can say is that it is not decrying nostalgia or a desire to remember the good times of the past.  We all enjoy thinking about good memories, and most of us have fond remembrances of at least some part of our past.  It's part of being human.  Memory is intrinsic to sentient existence.
     On the other hand, given the immediate context of the verse, part of which we will explore tomorrow, we can say that it is encouraging us to recognize that however great the days past were, they are now gone, physically gone forever.  They'll never return. Though we live with our memories of them and walk in the shadow of their influence every day, never again will we physically experience them.
     To the point, the prophet Isaiah talks often about how God is a God of newness, how God is constantly making things new.  And the writer of Proverbs observes in chapter 27 that, "When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen."  Even in loss and privation, hope remains.
     So it is that though we are products of our past, our future journey, the journey we constantly envision and create for ourselves, rests in the work of God--and it's always bright.