Especially as you get older, there's a lot of satisfaction in seeing yourself as a small part of a long story, a story that includes the dead and the unborn, and not just those of us who happen to be up and at it here in February 2006. We can do a better job of appreciating and cherishing the social capital we received from our ancestors, preserving it as best we can, and passing it on.
At least the parts that we like. That probably has a lot to do with how things change.