I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot this lately, so I really enjoyed reading your take! I think nostalgia often relates to community which is ironically lacking nowadays given that we’re surrounded by more ways to connect than ever. To your point, “Nostalgia reminds us that, for a while, life was simpler, joy was unplanned…”
Connection used to feel more organic; friendships were often formed through shared experiences and spontaneous gatherings. Now, it seems like more effort, resources, and intentional planning is required.
I’m now on a mission to bring back simple joys 🙂 Maybe it is the damn phones!!!
also, happy birthday!! Hope your new year is filled with joyful memories 🎂
Is ‘overconnection’ the issue, in some ways? Feels like it’s a quality vs. quantity game, and we’re too far on the quantity side. I’d rather have genuine and short lived connected compared to constant online connection.. but I can’t change the way our society works, I can only spread influence past a few social circles. And share my thoughts with you all haha.
These damn phones connect me with people I’d love to spend time with — like you and Rish and so many others — but we don’t.
(I’ve thought about hosting a writers retreat in Oaxaca geared toward Substack writers in part as
The only time I don’t feel nostalgic is when I’m fully present with close friends. Even then, when the moments are shared on social media, I can’t help but wonder: were we performing?
I love that piece of yours.. and I also hate it so much now that I'm reading it a year later. I hate that you even mentioned Gaza and I hate that Hector died and I hate that you yearn for a 23-year-old you but that's only a few years behind me now. Time is so weird and burdensome and you're right, it's only not that way when we're fully present in the moment with the closest of people.
having kids reminds me what I was like when I was little, when I had those moments that I didn't understand my parents and thought my parents didn't understand me. now I recalled some of those little moments my sister and I spent together, and how pure it was. I treasure those memories so much.
Loved this one. Wonderful writing that made me smile. Especially this line: "But nostalgia isn’t left to some otherworldly force, it’s crafted intentionally, knowing one day a future self would look back with a soft heart." - it is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, thinking how I will look back the very moments I am living right now.
Sometimes I wish I could return to the obliviousness of childhood. One where all I focused on was playing and imagining. Now, the realities of adulthood are so anxiety-inducing it can be terrifying at times.
having 2 kids and being a dad, I wonder what is stopping from all those playing and imaging we were so good at when we were little. I suffer from putting too much pressure on myself as being a perfect dad. but that opened the floodgate of anxiety and stress to my wife and kids. I am slowly taking the turn, and bringing those little moments back to the present. Hopefully you will find your rhythm inspired by your childhood!
I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot this lately, so I really enjoyed reading your take! I think nostalgia often relates to community which is ironically lacking nowadays given that we’re surrounded by more ways to connect than ever. To your point, “Nostalgia reminds us that, for a while, life was simpler, joy was unplanned…”
Connection used to feel more organic; friendships were often formed through shared experiences and spontaneous gatherings. Now, it seems like more effort, resources, and intentional planning is required.
I’m now on a mission to bring back simple joys 🙂 Maybe it is the damn phones!!!
also, happy birthday!! Hope your new year is filled with joyful memories 🎂
Is ‘overconnection’ the issue, in some ways? Feels like it’s a quality vs. quantity game, and we’re too far on the quantity side. I’d rather have genuine and short lived connected compared to constant online connection.. but I can’t change the way our society works, I can only spread influence past a few social circles. And share my thoughts with you all haha.
(and ty for the birthday wishes!)
Absolutely. Nostalgia hits me hardest when I think about the offline community I had in the past. [https://davidsasaki.substack.com/p/multi-temporality]
These damn phones connect me with people I’d love to spend time with — like you and Rish and so many others — but we don’t.
(I’ve thought about hosting a writers retreat in Oaxaca geared toward Substack writers in part as
The only time I don’t feel nostalgic is when I’m fully present with close friends. Even then, when the moments are shared on social media, I can’t help but wonder: were we performing?
I love that piece of yours.. and I also hate it so much now that I'm reading it a year later. I hate that you even mentioned Gaza and I hate that Hector died and I hate that you yearn for a 23-year-old you but that's only a few years behind me now. Time is so weird and burdensome and you're right, it's only not that way when we're fully present in the moment with the closest of people.
… in part as an excuse to meet Substack writers offline.)
having kids reminds me what I was like when I was little, when I had those moments that I didn't understand my parents and thought my parents didn't understand me. now I recalled some of those little moments my sister and I spent together, and how pure it was. I treasure those memories so much.
Uff, we yell "you won't get it" to our parents and then whine for their approval soon after... constant cycle.
Loved this one. Wonderful writing that made me smile. Especially this line: "But nostalgia isn’t left to some otherworldly force, it’s crafted intentionally, knowing one day a future self would look back with a soft heart." - it is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, thinking how I will look back the very moments I am living right now.
thank you so much! glad it sparked a smile :)
Sometimes I wish I could return to the obliviousness of childhood. One where all I focused on was playing and imagining. Now, the realities of adulthood are so anxiety-inducing it can be terrifying at times.
100% agreed, that’s why I find it so important to add play and imagination into adult life.. Easier said than done, but still.
having 2 kids and being a dad, I wonder what is stopping from all those playing and imaging we were so good at when we were little. I suffer from putting too much pressure on myself as being a perfect dad. but that opened the floodgate of anxiety and stress to my wife and kids. I am slowly taking the turn, and bringing those little moments back to the present. Hopefully you will find your rhythm inspired by your childhood!
A good reminder to slow down and play/be intentional with my children and maybe get lost in their imagination. Thanks Franco!
just too easy for me to keep falling back into the same trap of demanding this and demanding that from my 4 and 2.5yo
I have a 6 and 4 year old. I know the feeling!
oh wow, no more words are needed!
Happy birthday, Rish! Maybe for a future celebration you’ll bring together your cousins and Substack readers?
Thanks David! For sure, we need a cross-over episode soon.