The Paradox of Nostalgia: Longing, Creativity, and the Limits of the P
People strive to return to the past and experience nostalgia for several interconnected reasons. First, nostalgia arises as a sense of limitation—a feeling that the soul cannot fully unfold under current conditions, which causes pain and a sense of helplessness due to the inability to share one’s spirituality with others. This experience is described as an “absolute feeling” that can occur even when surrounded by loved ones and familiar everyday life, when the inner world feels restricted (source: link txt).Secondly, memories of the past are not merely replicas of bygone days; they are always creatively transformed and renewed in our consciousness. This means that the past becomes not so much what it once was as it is experienced now—with added idealization, emotions, and creative interpretation. Thus, the past is perceived as something “new” into which we can immerse ourselves, reliving moments when life seemed filled with meaning (source: link txt).Furthermore, our tendency to idealize periods in which we felt significant or aligned ourselves with the best, most vibrant moments of our lives also fuels nostalgia. This is often tied to the perception that if the present is seen as lacking or less significant, the past becomes a means of self-affirmation and a revival of inner confidence. For this very reason, many recall “the good old days” with a particular sympathetic melancholy, even if those times had their own challenges and shortcomings (source: link txt; source: link txt).This complex, almost paradoxical nature of nostalgia encompasses both the pain of loss and the longing for the past, along with the possibility of feeling connected to what, according to our memories, gave life more meaning and depth. This desire to return, even if only for a brief moment, is an integral part of the human psyche, allowing us to feel a connection with ourselves and our past.Supporting citation(s):"nostalgia is an absolute feeling. One can feel nostalgia while remaining in one’s own country next to their loved ones… simply because you feel that your soul is limited, that it cannot expand as much as you would like. Nostalgia is the feeling of helplessness before the world, the pain of being unable to convey your own spirituality to other people." (source: link txt)"A memory is not the preservation or restoration of our past, but always a new, always transformed past. Memory has a creative character." (source: link txt)"And even nowadays, the sighs of old people regarding how in 'their' time everything was different—more reasonable—better, have become proverbial. We all, with sufficient reason or without it, have an inextinguishable tendency to idealize the past..." (source: link txt)"By identifying with the best and brightest past, we thereby elevate ourselves in our own eyes..." (source: link txt)