What does the English word 'NOSTALGIA' mean? \ Learn words for living in the past - with captions

Thoughts of the past flash by

my brow as they take me away from the here and now.

Those thoughts of sunny days and crisp autumn nights

Help me forget all of these modern day frights.

My mind lifts to wonder in the mists of time

as my memories cool out.

Everything was so fine.

Do I stay in this haze or should I wake and stare down

all the modern time traumas that are making me frown.

Remember a time long ago when everything seemed fun?

When all the things around us felt like a dream.

When colours were bold and bright.

The fashions were varied and daring.

When lines were crossed and everyone became excited.

When the summers were long and pleasant

and the water tasted pure and the air smelt

fresh just as nature intended.

Did all that really happen?

Or are we just longing for a past that never was?

Perhaps today we will find the answer

as we go back in time to take a look at

nostalgia and all the

feelings connected to it.

In this fast paced world

that we now find ourselves living in,

it is easy to lose track of the things around us.

There are so many distractions and things to consider

on a daily basis

that you might feel as if you are losing touch

with the current trends and new things.

Each period of time has its own theme or atmosphere.

A good example being the 1980s,

a decade filled with unique creativity,

a growing technological environment,

and in many cases is a period of stability.

It was not a perfect decade, but it did leave its mark

on the way in which we experience the world around us.

We often describe the sense

of a particular period of time as the Zeit geist,

which can be expressed as the sense of the period

and the themes that existed during that time.

The word Zeit geist

literally means spirit of the time.

It is the sense of a certain

period of stability or change.

The climate

or feeling of a particular period of time is

the zeitgeist

any occurring

period of time will quite often influence

the one that follows it.

A large part of the previous ways of life are carried

on, while others are changed, albeit

not always for the better.

In the past

we would see these changes happen

over a long period of time.

The general feeling was that each wave of change

would occur over a ten year period.

This is why each decade the 1950s, sixties, seventies,

eighties and onwards

always left their own unique impression.

Fast forward to today, and it would seem as if

this process of change has greatly sped up.

Now there appears to be

a sense of urgency in all aspects of life.

Nothing stays the same for very long.

The new becomes old very fast these days.

This fast pace of change affects us all in some way.

Technology has become an ever changing,

and some might say ever

confusing part of our day to day life.

The cycle of the new the updated the faster,

the larger the smaller the most popular.

The new things that will make your life easier

all come around

and are then replaced

or updated at an almost dizzying pace.

The rate at which things change these days

makes keeping up with what is current

almost impossible.

Even the way in which we get information has sped up.

News becomes old before

we have even had the chance to fully take it in.

Today's relevant news often becomes overshadowed

very quickly by yet another breaking story.

With even more new information for us to read

and absorb in technology.

That shiny new device

you just bought

will be old and out of date within a few months.

Too much new information is just as bad as too little.

The result is the same confusion,

a sense of feeling lost and left behind.

And most importantly of all, no opportunity

to enjoy the moment you are in

There seems to be a fine line

between knowing too little

and trying to absorb too much.

The first one makes you dumb

while the other can leave

you feeling bewildered and cynical.

During times of trouble,

people will often look back to a time in the past.

There are many words

that can be used when looking back into the past.

Being nostalgic means to look back longingly

to past moments and experiences we have had.

The feeling of nostalgia is the result.

These recalled moments can

seem as real as they did when they first occurred.

Nostalgia is a very powerful thing.

It is often used in advertising

so as to trigger a sense of wanting

and as a way of encouraging people to click

on something mentioned on the Internet.

Go back to the past.

Remember the good old days we live that magical moment

again and again.

it is easy to look at the past

as being better than it actually was.

We sometimes wear rose tinted

spectacles when reminiscing about the past.

Just like looking at a faded photo

or an old piece of film.

The memories created by them can seem more colourful

and brighter than they actually were

Don't be afraid.

I am the ghost of past events.

I remember how things actually were

not how you want to remember them.

Things back then were as bad as they are now,

if not worse.

Wars, famine, global shortages,

crime, loneliness, mistrust.

And for some people, complete misery.

It is easy to look at the past through rose

coloured spectacles

and assume that the past was better.

I'm sure if you think hard enough

you will realise that the past was not as rosy

and carefree as you think it was.

The same problems that have blighted the human race

through history still exist today and vice versa.

Many things never change.

However, hard

we try to argue the case for the opposite.

Mankind will go on making the same mistakes over

and over by forgetting the mistakes of the past.

We are destined to make them again

and again.

It is normal to look back in retrospect

and relive special moments from the past.

But it is not good to live in the past,

however difficult

it may feel to live in the here and now.

That is where we must be

living each day and making plans for the future,

however uncertain that future may be.

Smile at the past.

Live in the here and now.

Wave to the future.

Don't be impatient for the things to come.

Enjoy the moment you are in right now.

For it is a gift.

It is the present.