--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What the nostalgic past and the imaginary…" description: "\"What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our future is just as goo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_believe_what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginar_17244.png" --- # What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to… ![“What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our future is just as goopy with sentiment as our past. To me, they're the same, both very tempting, and I don't believe in either, although the idealism is probably…” quote by Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_believe_what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginar_17244.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_believe_what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginar_17244.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_believe_what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginar_17244.png) > “What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our future is just as goopy with sentiment as our past. To me, they're the same, both very tempting, and I don't believe in either, although the idealism is probably important.” [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that both nostalgia for the past and fantasies about the future are driven by a similar idealistic yearning for completeness, which the speaker views skeptically despite acknowledging its motivational role. **In simple terms:** Nostalgia and futurism share idealistic longing. Key Takeaway Idealism fuels both past nostalgia and future visions. Themes nostalgia future idealism psychology human motivation Mood contemplative skeptical melancholic Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - reflecting on personal history - planning long‑term goals - marketing nostalgic products - designing visionary tech Key Concepts perception of time emotional bias cognitive distortion Practical Applications - creative writing - strategic foresight Questions to Reflect On - What drives our attraction to idealized narratives? - How can we balance idealism with realism? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Nostalgic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgic/) [Our future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-future/) [Our past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-past/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Sentiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentiments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) ## Related quotes > [Our nostalgic dreams of perfection thrive just as dangerously in the other direction too, in the imaginary future, that bold and tantalizing future where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/our-nostalgic-dreams-of-perfection-thrive-just-as-dangerously-in-the/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [She wonders if you can feel nostalgic for something before it's in the past, she wonders if perhaps her vocabulary is too small or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-mcgregor/she-wonders-if-you-can-feel-nostalgic-for-something-before-it-s-in/) [Jon McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-mcgregor/) > [I am not nostalgic for the past. And for me, being a museum curator was a childhood dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lacroix/i-am-not-nostalgic-for-the-past-and-for-me-being-a-museum-curator-was/) [Christian Lacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lacroix/) > [One cannot afford to be nostalgic about the past and cling onto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharmila-tagore/one-cannot-afford-to-be-nostalgic-about-the-past-and-cling-onto-it/) [Sharmila Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharmila-tagore/) > [“I can be nostalgic for the past, and I can romanticize the future, but I cannot sugar coat the here and now. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-rose-mckee/i-can-be-nostalgic-for-the-past-and-i-can-romanticize-the-future-but/) [Ellie Rose McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-rose-mckee/) > [“I find myself becoming increasingly nostalgic for the past, but after all I suppose that is the only thing one can be nostalgic about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rozoff/i-find-myself-becoming-increasingly-nostalgic-for-the-past-but-after/) [James Rozoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rozoff/) > [I am not nostalgic for the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lacroix/i-am-not-nostalgic-for-the-past/) [Christian Lacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lacroix/) > [“We cannot feel good about an imaginary future when we are busy feeling bad about an actual present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gilbert/we-cannot-feel-good-about-an-imaginary-future-when-we-are-busy/) [Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/) > [“Science fiction writers construct an imaginary future; historians attempt to reconstruct the past. Ultimately, both are seeking to understand the present. In this essay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-oreskes/science-fiction-writers-construct-an-imaginary-future-historians/) [Naomi Oreskes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-oreskes/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Nostalgia" How often we use this word reminiscing about the past - our childhood, school days, college days.. We feel nostalgic, we dwell in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanhita-baruah/nostalgia-how-often-we-use-this-word-reminiscing-about-the-past-our/) [Sanhita Baruah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanhita-baruah/) > [My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/my-heart-to-put-it-more-simply-got-nostalgic-for-the-present-always-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [All these years I've had a story in my mind, the story about us that never really existed. And because of that story, I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-schine/all-these-years-i-ve-had-a-story-in-my-mind-the-story-about-us-that/) [Cathleen Schine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-schine/) > [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [It's nice to have been around long enough to be a part of people's lives. A lot of people who come to my show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-easton/it-s-nice-to-have-been-around-long-enough-to-be-a-part-of-people-s/) [Sheena Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-easton/) ## More by Charles D'Ambrosio > [I have lots of fiction in the drawer, but the essays I mostly kick out into the world, ready or not. Fiction incubates differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-have-lots-of-fiction-in-the-drawer-but-the-essays-i-mostly-kick-out/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I'm kind of a creature of the alt-weekly universe - my real education into higher culture was acquired in coffee shops, reading those papers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-m-kind-of-a-creature-of-the-alt-weekly-universe-my-real-education/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Even with an assignment, I take over, I find a freedom and make the idea my own, and that's where you get the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/even-with-an-assignment-i-take-over-i-find-a-freedom-and-make-the/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Nowadays I imagine people find freer and more accepting venues in blogs, on Tumblr and Instagram and Facebook, in the riot of shouting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/nowadays-i-imagine-people-find-freer-and-more-accepting-venues-in/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“...the boy saw faces disinigrate before his eyes, faces that fell to pieces, then disappeared, leaving a hole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/the-boy-saw-faces-disinigrate-before-his-eyes-faces-that-fell-to/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I like the desperado aspect of essays, the free lance, that mercenary kind of thing, so I just do it, without asking anyone's permission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-like-the-desperado-aspect-of-essays-the-free-lance-that-mercenary/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [My presence isn't simply about "character" - I'm present in every part and particle of the thing, in the sound and rhythm of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/my-presence-isn-t-simply-about-character-i-m-present-in-every-part/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“She sighed. Ignatius, do you know what the opposite of love is? Hate, I said. Despair, Sister said. Despair is the opposite of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/she-sighed-ignatius-do-you-know-what-the-opposite-of-love-is-hate-i/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“It's hard to kill yourself by taking Tylenol. You die from liver failure, which takes a long time...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/it-s-hard-to-kill-yourself-by-taking-tylenol-you-die-from-liver/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Too much me is annoying under any circumstance, but too much me in an essay, however personal, would mar the art. My "character" in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/too-much-me-is-annoying-under-any-circumstance-but-too-much-me-in-an/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I suppose I like certainty as much as anyone else, but I also feel that the hidden costs are high, that we pay a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-anyone-else-but-i-also-feel/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [The poet Amanda Nadelberg puts it nicely in an interview when she says "often what I listen for in poems is a sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/the-poet-amanda-nadelberg-puts-it-nicely-in-an-interview-when-she/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Our nostalgic dreams of perfection thrive just as dangerously in the other direction too, in the imaginary future, that bold and tantalizing future where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/our-nostalgic-dreams-of-perfection-thrive-just-as-dangerously-in-the/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I'm not a very savvy operator - it's not who I am, it's not what I do - and so I have to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-m-not-a-very-savvy-operator-it-s-not-who-i-am-it-s-not-what-i-do/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“her knees, which looked, in the faint blue light, as though they'd been carved by water from a bar of soap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/her-knees-which-looked-in-the-faint-blue-light-as-though-they-d-been/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) [Explore all 26 Charles D'Ambrosio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our future is just as goopy with sentiment as our past. 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