Member-only story
The Positive Aspects of Nostalgia
Mindfulness will show you if your feelings are for a real memory or an idealization of the past.
One of my fondest memories of my childhood is Star Wars.
I was five years old the first time my parents took me to see this movie. Though I cannot entirely recall the experience, I do know that as I watched that ship (the Tantive IV, FYI) come soaring across the screen, as if from over our heads, exchanging fire with a Star Destroyer…I was hooked.
Over the course of the next four decades, Star Wars ( Episode IV — A New Hope, if you must) and the movies, books, comics, and now TV shows all awakened my imagination and a deep love of science fiction.
In just a few days the 9th movie is coming out — The Rise of Skywalker. Every single time a commercial pops up for it on TV (or online) I get that giddy feeling of excitement deep down in my chest. I am a kid all-over again…in the best possible way.
Nostalgia can be problematic when it causes you to hold onto a past that may not have existed. Yearning for a happier, simpler time with rose-colored glasses for looking to the past gets applied. But nostalgia without yearning can be an intense source of positivity.
I keep many different Star Wars artifacts around me. A Yoda or two, a Han Solo in carbonite lamp, small BB-8…
