There are old ideas—and “old” just means “ideas we don’t think will ‘work’ in whatever cultural, economic, or political ordering is in vogue now”—that sometimes need new traction.

Ideas fall out of favor for a variety of reasons that reflect cultural evolution. When this evolution reaches a standstill (or when going forward seems scarier than standing still), old ideas from the past tend to return.

Unfortunately, the speed of the Internet has convinced humanity (at least in some places on the globe) that the speed of cultural evolution should match the speed with which an individual can order a latte from their phone. That’s never happened. Cultural evolution may seem to be faster in our time because of the ever-present nature of Internet communication, but in reality, cultural adoption of new ideas still takes at least twenty years. Or, the time it takes for a new generation of people to be born, raised, and mature enough to begin to assert themselves on reality.

Here’s a list of some old ideas that are still relevant, regardless of how quickly we all may think that society is culturally evolving:

Love your enemies.

Do good to (and for) those who would seek to do wrong to you.

Practice humility and grace.

Live your life according to a set of values, ethics, and morals that you can explain when the rubber meets the road.

Help others who are not as fortunate as you to get what they need to live..

Be interested, open, and caring about another person’s story so that you can grow as they grow.

Listen more than you talk—either with your hands or your mouth.

There are a few others, but you get the idea. When an old idea returns to prominence, we often say that it is “an idea whose time has come.”

Of course, for ideas as old as the ones above (and many others, I’m sure that you could think of), their time never really left.