Ah, yes here it is again. You’re doing something new or trying out different tasks in life or hanging out with other people, living somewhere different than all of a sudden… that feeling of nostalgia hits you upside the head. You start thinking of where you were and how much you miss it how good it felt to be in that moment. How much you miss the surroundings, the people, the scenery, it’s almost like you think you made a mistake and need to go back ASAP… Don’t act on the impulse so fast though.
Nostalgia- “yearning of the past/ longing for home or familiar surroundings”
Nostalgia, why do you enter into us as chills down our backs, tears down our faces or sadness in our eyes? Usually, that’s how it feels. It’s a weird concept to understand. We say we want to do this and that and get it done quick because we’re just so sick of where we are and need a change, then when we make that change we still end up ( eventually) reminiscing about where we just were! The place or time of the event that we wanted to escape from oh, so badly. What a mind spinner, what kind of game does it play? I’m not to say our mind is the cause for all of the distress either, I’m just saying, we ought to be very careful on what we act on and how we react to the thoughts. Do we actually miss it? Or are we just out of our comfort zone and want to crawl back into the known?
Example: I wanted to get out of California ( I know, crazy huh?) and was ready to just take 300 bucks and pray that I get lucky to make it to wherever I was going, my choice was Bali, Indonesia. I stayed a little longer in California than I wanted too because I was trying to be smart about it. (You create your own reality but you’re still working on the physical plane, so be smart!) Eventually, a month later I left. Now I’m sitting here in my Airbnb, reminiscing about California… The same place I was just trying to escape from. What triggered this thought was the ocean I went to today. I was thinking of how beautiful Laguna Beach is. The clear blue water, the temperature of the water, it was the perfect mixture of cold and warm. The waves and how they set etc.. but my question is, why?
Why am I so unfulfilled at where I just am right now? I either miss something or desire something. I tried to pick my own brain today to help you ease yours too a little just in case you’re feeling the same way. I think the desire is always going to be there unless you’re some master yogi in the mountains/cave without technology, in my opinion, not stating this as a fact. I say this because social media is the biggest influence on us as human beings. Look what’s on it, it’s always a want. We want that person’s face, outfit, house, life …We programmed the wants and needs in our heads so much that it has become a daily thought every day without even noticing how damaging it is.
Set a reminder or alarm every day. Name it something like “are you living in the moment?” or “Are you complaining?”. Doing this just created a little more space to get in touch with yourself, It might be a little weird at first but if you do practice it daily eventually you’ll realize it was all just one thought spread out like a blueprint for the upcoming synonym of the same thoughts.
Realize it is more than okay to miss things and feel what you feel right now, it’s all valid. What you can’t do is let it control your mindset.
When you always think about how much you miss that person or place you’re putting yourself somewhere where you’re not at anymore in life. You’re living in the past because you are not present.. so where are you? Your body is there, but where is your mind? Crazy right? So realize that it’s gone and those memories were just a movie script you kept on replay. I promise you it’ll be better to keep moving forward. You’re supposed to be going this way, take it into account that if you miss it that much, you can go back but you’re not even there so enjoy what’s right in front of you now. You’re not fully appreciating or respecting your own life if you don’t snap out of it!
Take it as a challenge from the universe and play.
I always see these things as a challenge, as a search for yourself, a quest might I add. Are you going to go back to what you’re used to because that’s all you know or are you going to keep pushing yourself to make friends with change? Personally I think we have these thoughts because it’s how we’re programmed to think now, we all just want to settle. Do you think that’s true? If it is true do you find yourself seeking change at the same time? I think the evolution of humans is so weirdly fascinating because we are so contradicting! We say one thing then go against it, do the total opposite. We can’t really fall for our own emotions, there always at play with themselves and us.
Being in the now is a spiritual practice on its own and must be taken seriously.
“When you surrender to what is and so become fully present, the past ceases to have any power. The realm of Being, which had been obscured by the mind, then opens up. Suddenly, a great stillness arises within you, an unfathomable sense of peace. And within that peace, there is a great joy. And within that joy, there is love. And at the innermost core, there is the sacred, the immeasurable, That which cannot be named.” – Eckhart Tolle. What has really helped me stay in the now is breathing, yoga, reading, observing and writing. Take the time to figure out what puts you in the moment. This all right here what you have in front of you is happening right now, you have to make it all count because life is so special, the more you look at the past the more you’re diminishing the present. Don’t overlook your life.
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have” – Eckhart Tolle
