“The past is never dead. It's not even past.” - William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun
In “Some Final Words” Billy Collins the author attempts to shed the shackles of the past by walking through a darkened forest and being at one with nature, but all the references he can summon to describe this experience are deeply rooted in the past he is trying to escape. His knowledge of Johann Strauss, his tragic brother, their music or history itself all come crashing in distracting him from that pure empty moment he so craves. He literally cannot see the present due to his referencing it to the past.
This dilemma is not an uncommon one. The Jesuit scholar St. Ignatius Loyola came across this very issue over 500 years ago. Up until that point the Catholic Church solved every problem that came before it by finding a solution in The Bible. This did not work so well when they had to find solutions to problems that are not referenced in the sacred texts, which led St. Ignatius Loyola to come up with the concepts of “Casuistry” and “The Novel Problem”
"Casuistry” is a method of reasoning which says that as opposed to solving a problem with a set of broad principles (the past) it is more effective to approach a problem as unique. Start with the specifics and then move on to a more general understanding. This is a way of considering new kinds of problems on their own merits. They called these types of problems “Novel Problems” because they had never occurred before.
Sadly the human brain is not wired for Casuistry. We all find ourselves unable to see what is in front of us because it is so clouded by our past experiences. There is a whole industry of mental health professionals, self help classes and books all dedicated to this and yet we still are, like Billy Collins doomed to repeat our past.
The poem is read by author, comedian, raconteur and all round good egg Arthur Smith. Arthur wrote what I consider the defining work on unrequited love and football - “My Summer With Des”. He has some shows coming up. Go see them. https://www.arthursmith.co.uk/gigs/