Merriam-Webster says this of the word:
nos·tal·gia
noun\nä-ˈstal-jə, nə- also nȯ-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl-\
: pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again
We all are familiar with the feeling of nostalgia. A snatch of song, a whiff of a particular scent, a turn in the road, a voice, flowers in bloom, rustle of paper… you name it, anything could trigger feelings of nostalgia, transport you back to a different time and place, leaving you yearning for things, people or situations that are now securely in the past, your past, or sometimes merely a version of your memories of that past.
It is a beautiful word, but has been hijacked and mangled beyond recognition by those for whom anything and everything about their own past is oh-so-gloriously beautiful. Magic it seems is finite, and they used it all up while they were growing up. Like, really? Actually I am fed up to here with this sort of extreme nostalgia-mongering. To me it sounds more like *nostalgia about nostalgia* than nostalgia itself. As a result, I have come up with a shailsim:
Nostalgia, is that which successfully keeps people bound to a past and their own memory of how things were, makes them blind to the good in the present, and effectively takes away the simple joy of living from their future. #shailism
Some of the M posts from A to Z Challenge worth checking:
M for Movies (all about dog-movies)
Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005)
©Shail Mohan 2014
Shail's Nest 
hahaha you’re super creative Shail!
and me 1stttttttttt!
🙂 Yay!
Thank you 🙂
Oops this quote first time scared me as am very nostalgic 🙂 The word nostalgia also makes me nostalgic 🙂 Though I don’t curse the present . Tomorrow my post is linked to nostalgia 😮
Haha. Waiting to read 😛
I’ve been quite nostalgic n whiff of emotions or taste bud make me travel. Love ur take, Shail:)
Thanks, Vishal. 🙂
So true! You’re post just makes everyone who read it nostalgic 🙂
Really? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I love me some Shailism! You’re right; so many people view the past with rose tinted glasses!
Yes. And most times I am like, ‘am I the only one who sees what’s good/better in the here and now’?
lol Oh my goodness. I can certainly see your point! For instance, how about those people who are in their 30’s (like myself) who truly believe that the cartoons they watched as a kid are the best cartoons that ever existed. Hahah…go back and actually WATCH some of them and see how great you think they are! XD
Lol. I know. The point is simple, we all love what we watched as children. They are neither the best or the last word in anything as it is made out to be 😀
As creative as usual Shail and of course loved your Shailism! Take care
Thank you, Swati 🙂
I may have moments of nostalgia when I hear a song or such, but I never want to relive the past. To me that is scarier than the future! Memories are supposed to be a comfort, not a way of life. I agree with you.
Ahh, you hit the nail with this: “Memories are supposed to be a comfort, not a way of life.”
Come visit me sometime! Hope you are feeling better now.
Oh, how sweet of you, Ann. Thank you! May be, some day! 🙂
And yes, I am alright now, thank you.
ah yes.. the present and the future are important…
Nostalgia is good upto an extent me thinks.. its sometimes nice to sit and reflect back and correct one’s mistakes..
But, Shailism makes sense. There’s no point in being shackled to the past.. we need to change with times and move ahead and not backwards!
Yeah, true Pixie. Nostalgia is certain wistfulness that is inevitable I guess, but some willingly shackle themselves to their imagined perfect past, blind to what’s good in the present and the possibilities in the future.
It is natural for everybody to be nostalgic and also to dream about the future, but both within limits. It is extremely important to be totally present in the present!
You said it! 🙂
People get nostalgic at the drop of a hat and keep telling ‘how beautiful it was back then’. I think that being nostalgic has become cool these days.. But being in the present and finding good in it is so important.. Loved the shailism here..
Thank you. By the way, it is not just these days. I have myself heard enough nostalgia (which almost made me a diabetic, so cloyingly sweet were the days past!) from my previous generation. 😛
Haha, you said it well Shail. No nostalgia is worth its salt if it drains the happiness in the present.
That’s what is so annoying. Here you are well and truly happy when you have to listen to people moan how everything is too crappy for words in the present.
The Shailism is bang on.
Thank you 🙂
Sometimes, nostalgia is overrated. Isn’t it?
Very much so!
For me, it’s okay to indulge in reminiscences. The present is there because of or despite the past. At the same time, thinking only that the past was good and present is bad is also not good 🙂 My two paisas. 🙂
That’s true. That’s why history as a subject is important 🙂
You can never go back, nor wish it now; but there is a pleasure, a masochistic one sometimes, in wallowing in memories 🙂
I love the right here and right now better though 🙂 🙂
I was just thinking and the realization struck, that I don’t do that, masochistic pleasure thing. When I need/want to look, I do, through a telescope, zooming in too at times. Thank you Usha, but for your comment I wouldn’t have come up with this telescope analogy 🙂
As they say the days gone by are always better than the days yet to come…it is the feeling…I live in nostalgia half my life…btw, I love Shailism 🙂
Haha. I believe the opposite. 🙂 Thanks, Latha 🙂
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Completely agree with your dose of Shailism!! And you come up with such fun and creative pic captions…too cute!
Danke, danke! 🙂 I am really enjoying making these posters 😀
That image is hilarious, and I love your #Shailism! 🙂
Random Musings from the KristenHead — N is for Nature (and Nimble)
Thank you 🙂
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