Nostalgia

‎"Nostalgia is the disease which causes us to miss the truly great days in front of us for the idealized ones behind us." 

-D. Megill

I just read this quote, and it got me to wondering...is nostalgia really bad?

Trust me, I thought about this for quite some time, and I have to say the quote has its merits.  But I, for one, really do like nostalgia. It helps to forget past hurts, and remember past joys.  Is that such a bad thing?

I've recently been going through a difficult time.  We moved 18 months ago from a rural home in the middle of a beautiful area to a beautiful house in the midst of the 5th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. I'm suffering from culture shock, loss of friends and a way of life I grew to love.

Since I've been here, I've focused mostly on working and the other day I looked in the mirror and saw my father, who literally worked himself to death because he just couldn't get enough done.  He did make time for fun, but the rest of the time, he worked.

I'm losing sleep because of work, I'm not as fun (according to my kids) because of work, and I am moody (according to my husband). I blame work.

The problem is, I LOVE my work.

So, maybe that's not the real problem.

I think the real problem is that I miss some of the things I used to do to "feed" myself.  Things I haven't started in my new life because I don't have friends and companions who have similar interests, and just "make" me do things.


Nostalgia. n. 1. A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past. 2. The condition of being homesick; homesickness ...

It's true, then. I'm missing people, things, and situations from my past.  That is NOT bad.  It reminds me that I need to reincorporate things that were important to me.  In order to return to my former self, I have to return to some of those activities, and nostalgia helped me to realize it.

I'll still be working long hours, probably deep into the night.  But, I'm also focused on the changes I need to make to find a happiness that I thought was lost.

No, nostalgia is NOT a bad thing.