Nostalgia

Nostalgia

nóstos: homecoming; álgos: pain or ache

Nostalgia, as described in the Cambridge dictionary

A feeling of pleasure, and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past

I just found out that nostalgia was considered as a psychiatric disorder. I couldn't believe that something so familiar, so human, was a peculiarity back then until the early 20th century.

Nostalgia can come to anyone at anytime. I was looking through old family photos we keep in a wooden box. The album got destroyed by age and humidity, so we rescued them and put them in a wooden box. Not sure if it was the right place to keep them safe, but it works for now.

As I scanned through the pictures, the nostalgia started to hit me. Now that I am 23, the pictures look so distant and yet so close.

When I was a kid, childhood felt like forever. It felt like time could fast forward for years, and everything would still be the same. As I grow older, time became mercilessly fast. It's probably because when we were still, 6, 7, 8, 9, or maybe 10, a year worth one-tenth of our lifetime. It was a big number compared to how old we are now. Now a year only worth one-twenty-third of our current lifetime, and it will continue to decrease. That's one of the many causes of nostalgia, longing for childhood memories. No matter how far away your childhood is, it would always feel like yesterday.

I continued to scan through the pictures. They were not just pictures, they are slices of life, frozen in time. No matter who you are, where you are, and how you are now, you were once in that scene. People who are not here anymore, were once here. People who are separated, were once unified. That gave a sense of realization of how infinite the possibilities are in life. Happy times are always treasured, but something in the past might have turned into undesirable twist on its way to the future. That's another part of nostalgia.

What to make of nostalgia? I think it is in a way a gift. "It's not  always peaches cream and honey." But it's a reminder that we have been through a lot of things, the good and the not so good. Maybe a milestone, to learn from, to be grateful for.

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah.

We may be eager to see the future, but part of us will always cling on to the past.


Some interesting stuff to learn more about nostalgia:
- Why Do We Feel Nostalgia?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiTgn5QH_HU

- Why Do I Get Nostalgic?
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/why-do-i-get-nostalgic/

- Nostalgia, Past, Present, and Future
http://www.wildschut.me/Tim_Wildschut/home_files/Sedikides,%20Wildschut,%20Arndt,%20%26%20Routledge,%202008,%20CDir.pdf