About nostalgia
Well, talking about nostalgia is always complex, because it refers to something personal; that’s why the idea of nostalgia includes a lot of different shades.
Today, the main feeling around us can be perceived in two latin words: carpe diem. We are the carpe diem generation, with the idea of doing everything now because everything is happening now, before that it will be too late. We are oppressed by the idea that is gonna get late, and suddenly we run all the time. Running has become the only way we have to live in the present. RUN.
But sometimes, running becomes non-sense. The risk is that you are running without a direction. Sometimes I need stop, wherever I am. I stop running and I look behind me, I breath. It is a matter of nostalgia. It could be a sound, a perfume, a little detail that will immediately transport me somewhere in the past, somewhere far; therefore I start to feel the sweetness of that memories, my mind get broader because through nostalgia, time stop to exist; indeed, I am here and I am there at the same time, through something that is timeless: the thought.
This is the nostalgic feeling. Like the seaside in the winter. Something that reminds you some distant shore, when you were approaching life differently, or when you were living in a total different way, or when you felt to be “more alive”. There’s a sense of aesthetics related to this, because everything appears to be more vivid. There is a sense of innocence and freedom that emerge through nostalgia, and we often remember all the beautiful details of our past. It’s something related with a sweetness feeling; something intimate that nobody else can understand. The people around, will see you different because nobody is able to understand where is your mind now. All these feelings have inspired most of the best artworks, most of the best ideas. I believe that this is related with a sense of belonging to the world; memories, especially when they are vivid, can shape our identity and our perspective forever.
Moreover, I believe that nostalgia has the ability to make us understand the past, even if this will depend on each one. Every person has a different story and the past it’s the story that often we tell to ourselves. There’s who thinks that past is not useful, like most of the carpe-diem generation, able to rely only on the present. What’s right and what’s wrong? What happen if we look back sometimes?
Roots are important !
- The Great Beauty
On the other hand, going in search of lost time it could be a waste of time itself, because the present is a present. Each person has its own way to do. We can decide whether we want to rely on roots and past, whether we want to be detached from anything and anyone, whether we want our memories to shape ourselves or not. The answer is up to you now.
Recommended movie: The Great Beauty
Written by Davide La Rocca
