Nostaligic

Easily the most useless and counterproductive feeling in the make up of emotions. Think about that last Facebook album you clicked through and all those familiar faces from years back that you see now still together enjoying what once used to be your stomping grounds. All the while thinking, well I know I am still in contact and all but would it be the same if I was back? The answer, well its just about as useless as the question.

See the weakness that we have is that we look back and apply that to the future, combining now with the notion of what could have been if...(fill in the blank). It is really quite futile to think about circumstances and life in general in those terms. The feeling that brings you back makes you feel warm, fuzzy, and familiar, and turns itself into self pity, doubt, and appreciation of where you are in life at this moment. Social media is amazing to keep people, places, and things current. It's just that whats current tends to become what's in the past and so quickly the distant past.

I have boiled it down to precisely this. Memories are an amazing thing, referring to the good ones of course, and nostalgia above all is appreciating the people that were in your life and the places that you have been blessed to witness. I love pictures and only recently has my love of them started to find a channel of expression but my old attitude still applies. When you are in a place, hearing that song, seeing those people the mind is the ultimate playback. There are things that will never be articulated in picture or video they are simply impossible to be articulated. The old expression 'you had to be there' holds so true for those who have experienced things in life that only the few have. The true feeling of nostalgia exists when you are thinking of someone and they message you or call you. As if the universe just conspired and the energy was just right. That is what a true memory is. The power to be retained and be the conduit of all these (useless?) emotions.

Nostalgia is the recognition that we have a shortfall in not being able to relay experiences and that is not a bad thing. It simply means that you are having experiences that are unreal and necessary part of a complete existence. It means adventure was had, risks were taken and cool shit was the outcome. And when you meet a person who gets that, communication verbally, through pictures, and all the social networking in the world is secondary.

Song of the Day: Darius Rucker - Alright