Is Nostalgia Keeping Us Living In The Past?
<p>Are you living in the past? Do you long for the good old days? Do you wish things were like they used to be?</p>
<p>That longing for aspects of our personal lives framed in the past is a feeling shared by many.</p>
<p>We are confronted by the dichotomy of nostalgia: the sweetness of remembering the best of times and the sadness of knowing that they are gone forever. The irreversibility of time makes sure of that.</p>
<p>There is a line in the song <em>Paul is Alive</em> by the American Indy Rock duo El Vy that from the moment I heard it I thought it was brilliant:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Don’t waste your life wishing everything was like it was.”</p>
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<h2>Personal nostalgia vs. Historical nostalgia</h2>
<p>Personal nostalgia is a very comforting emotion. It takes us back to aspects of our life that we have already experienced and have stored in our memory. For example, it can transport us to a time when we were loved unconditionally by family and friends.</p>
<p>For some of us who are old enough to have grown up in the 1950s, when we wish for the good old days we are experiencing <strong>personal nostalgia</strong> attached to memories of carefree summers, new friends, or school experiences we enjoyed at that time.</p>
<p>A young Millennial on the other hand would likely see the 1950s as <strong>historical nostalgia</strong>, related to a comparison with the present.</p>
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