"Contemporary nostalgia is not so much about the past as about vanishing the present."
- scholar Svetlana Boym
The word nostalgia parses to nostos, Greek for "homecoming," and algos, Greek for "pain." Nostalgia literally means the pain of imagined homecomings, and homecomings are meant to include most potently the fond memories of familiar and pleasing scenarios.
"Although nostalgia once was thought to be primarily a negative emotion, more modern interpretations in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and even neuroimaging suggest that the pangs of nostalgia play an important and potentially positive role in our emotional homeostasis."
Speer, et al. (2014)
It is graduation time for many students, young people and friends. I don't have kids of my own but live vicariously through the families and friends I know as I attend these milestone events. It makes me proud and eager to see what will become of these new "time travelers." Their dreams becoming reality (or not), their loss and gain of family and friends on their new timelines, their gradual fulfillment of wisdom as time moves forward. I wish them well on this journey that they embark on.
Congratulations to all of you and I hope one day that you feel the need and joy to share your experiences to others.
- scholar Svetlana Boym
The word nostalgia parses to nostos, Greek for "homecoming," and algos, Greek for "pain." Nostalgia literally means the pain of imagined homecomings, and homecomings are meant to include most potently the fond memories of familiar and pleasing scenarios.
"Although nostalgia once was thought to be primarily a negative emotion, more modern interpretations in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and even neuroimaging suggest that the pangs of nostalgia play an important and potentially positive role in our emotional homeostasis."
Speer, et al. (2014)
It is graduation time for many students, young people and friends. I don't have kids of my own but live vicariously through the families and friends I know as I attend these milestone events. It makes me proud and eager to see what will become of these new "time travelers." Their dreams becoming reality (or not), their loss and gain of family and friends on their new timelines, their gradual fulfillment of wisdom as time moves forward. I wish them well on this journey that they embark on.
Congratulations to all of you and I hope one day that you feel the need and joy to share your experiences to others.
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