I find myself defending to others the wistful side of me, the longing for the familiar, the clinging to mementos from times past, the nostalgic reveling in the sights, smells, and sounds of my childhood. This aspect of my mind-set serves me and my writing well.
The Oxford English dictionary traces the word, nostalgia only back to 1780, although others have claimed philosopher, Johannes Hofer coined the word as early as 1668. The word is made up of the Greek, nostras, "a return home," and algos, "pain."
You wouldn't think the two words, 'home' and 'pain,' would be bound together...but it does make sense when you incorporate a lesson from history and from understanding a notable purpose of nostalgia.
In the 1830s the word was used for someone who was experiencing intense homesickness. We can relate to that sickening feeling in our stomachs when we look back at the memory of leaving for summer camp the first time, or our first sleepover as kids, but we generally got over it with distractions called fun.
Militarily, nostalgia was considered a serious medical problem, especially in the American Civil War. The problem of the soldiers' longing desire to return and go back home was intensely pervasive. These documented cases of young soldiers manifested depressing symptoms accompanied by angst and woe that gripped them with emotional and physical pain. Thus, doctors called it having a case of "nostalgia."
We don't live in a vacuum. Our past serves as a spark of cohesiveness to the present time; allowing ourselves moments of remembrance at peak emotional times in our life help ignite, like a flint, a connection across a river of pain and suffering. Even when reality exacts the loss of a human presence or time in our life, this bridge to the past can in some ways assure us of our future.
Our lives are dynamic, fast paced, and ever-changing. It's difficult with the velocity of movement in our daily lives to be still and pause within the fields of confusion and loneliness. To wander slowly between the fence posts of our memories is when nostalgia CAN serve as a resting place. Conjuring past images can give comfort, affirmation, and even peace during the painful moments of sadness and despair.
I like to think of indulging in nostalgia as needed sustenance. Life is an odyssey of obstacles and memories are food for this journey.
To allow ourselves to remember the past and yearn for what once was helps us in recovering enough nourishment to survive the deep sense of sorrowful longing.
Sharing memories give us strength when a a gulf of separation impedes forward progress from what can no longer be. The desire for the familiar, nostalgia, can be a needed reflective marker to help guide us safely along the path that returns us...back home.