Lao Tzu also had a problem with history and the future. He recognized that the past existed and that the future was coming, but he refused to live in the past and work for the future because one lives in the present and experiencing it was the most important part of life. Experience each day to the fullest, and let the past worry about itself. During the time that Lao Tzu was alive, and coming up with the philosophy of Daoism, another man, Confucius, was walking around coming up with his own philosophy. Confucianism is based on the concept that wisdom comes from age.
Age is equivalent to old things.
The past is old. Thus, the concepts of the past must be good, and we should follow them. Confucius and Lao Tzu had a chance to chat. So, he puts them on the table, opens all twelve of them up, and starts expounding on them profusely. Lao Tzu listens for all of five minutes and tells him to get to the gist of the matter because he does not have all day.