Things were....simpler, back then.  Like what happened before, we knew it wouldn't last forever, but it felt like it would.  Perhaps that is the time that I should be thinking of most, when I look to the past for guidance?

Instead, though, I often turn back the clock even further.  To when happiness was a measured feeling -- the tranquility of a still lake of water, undisturbed by turmoil, nature, and mankind.  Sadness lay in the middle of that lake, and the waters were clear enough that you could see it if you looked closely.  But the sadness was not one of crashing waves, of whipping winds, of darkness and despair.  For everything was still, quiet, and deliberate.  You feel your presence dissipate into thin air as the sound of your footsteps disappears into nothingness, as every movement becomes softened.