Today, I happened upon some music I had heard before, but could never remember the name to. The moment I started to hear that one song, I swore it was familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It wasn't until halfway through the song when I realized it was that particular song I'd heard before. I looked into the artist, found their album, and bought it. And through "related" searches had another similar experience.
So, yeah, I bought two relatively old (07 and 04) albums today.
And that's alright. So, it isn't the most popular music around. That's okay. I remember first hearing these songs and loving them, and now that I have them, they mean even more. It was both sort of a discovery and a rediscovery. But, together. And that, I think, was the best part about it.
Shall I explain why? Yes? Alrighty then!
Sometimes, we experience things. Sometimes, those things mean something to us. And sometimes, we eventually forget about those things. That doesn't mean they never meant anything to us. That doesn't mean we basically never experienced them, then. No, because that experience (and its meaning) are still residing in our subconscious. It's sort of... asleep. And once it "wakes up," you'll remember it again. And it will still mean everything it did before (and sometimes moreso).
When that thing wakes up, and when all the rememberances of that come rushing back through our heads, we're going to appreciate it. Probably more for the memories of the original experience than for now, in whatever state you find it in. (That's why, for example, if you look at a song that was used as a theme song for some show on Youtube, you'll most likely see comments about that show.) People remember how they came to experience things more often than they actually like the thing itself.
I've found that that idea applies to friends as well. I can (vaguely, so it's still applicable) use an example from my own life. I had a friend several years back; we were tight like Sherlock and Watson, or Frodo and Sam. It was ridiculous. And then, well, I moved. I didn't hear from him and him from me. A year or so later I saw him again. We hung out. Did stupid stuff for memory's sake. But, see, it wasn't so much about what we were doing, but what we had done. Discovery and rediscovery at the same time. He and I learned what we'd been up to over the past year or two, and reminisce about the days of old.
Past and present are intertwined in a way that you can't even begin to visualize. Our memories affect everything we do, and the way we discover new things and old things alike. So make the most of new experiences; chances are you'll run across it again. And whatever experience you had with it will come rushing back to you.