almost anything can bring you nostalgia
Just imagine yourself peacefully sitting in a park. You could be people watching, waiting for someone’s outward personality to inspire you, or you could be flower picking, making a natural bouquet for your own personal collection. Then suddenly, a distinct smell dances across your nose and in an instant old memories begin to flood your mind.
You have no control over it. Whether it be a good or traumatic memory, you almost can never control what memories choose to pop up in your head. Sure, you maybe one of the lucky ones that has fast enough reflexes to block said memory, but other people may not have that luxury. Even if you do choose to suppress your memory, the fact that it even popped up in your head may not even leave your mind until the next day.
once you experience nostalgia you may stop at nothing to feel it again
It might just be me, but whenever I have a pleasant memory brought back to me, I feel compelled to relive it again. I tend to fixate on that feeling for a while, until I’m able to achieve the same bliss. And that’s not always attainable. Which tends to shift my focus from more productive things.
On the other hand, I always have a burst of inspiration to find the aesthetics that match that memory. Which sprouts my love/hate relationship with Pinterest, but that’s another topic. From that inspires my poetry and other aspects of my writing process, so I guess you could say it’s somewhat helpful.
don’t get caught up in the small details
It’s almost inevitable to have bad memories form feelings of nostalgia. The important thing to remember is nostalgia comes from memories of the past. You can not change the past, but you can choose how to react and determine your future.
I’m glad someone else covered nostalgia! It’s such a fascinating topic, and so essential to the writing process.