What is wrong about being nostalgic?
During a full week in Myspace, I changed my mood from mischievous to nostalgic. Once done that, I started to receive messages from readers asking me what was wrong - given that some considered that being nostalgic was a bad thing in itself.
But I don’t think that being nostalgic for a week is such a problem.
So, here is the question of the week: how do see nostalgia?
P.S : For the next weeks, I shall be posting here the questions of the week under written form given that I will be travelling.
Of course it’s not bad to feel nostalgic sometimes because this means you have lived pleasant moments which you don’t want to forget.We usually forget things we don’t want to remember.However, being nostalgic all the time means your past is better than your present.In this case you must make changes in your life immediately because something is wrong!
Love,
Lia
Nothing is wrong at all, sometimes we miss certain places, certain phases in life. nothing wrong in longing for them.
Nesreen
its good that we go back to our roots once in awhile and naturally, nostalgia comes.
as mentioned, nostalgia comes to the person when he or she has had pleasant memories at a particular place, setting or event.
and in fact, I feel that nostalgia is positive, simple because it keeps one in check and serves as a reminder to events in the past, of which good memories often reside.
Kenji
I enjoyed your nostalgia Paulo. It reminded me of my good memories from previous times. It reminded me of the love I had for certain people that are no longer in my life. Thank you. Pepper
We are only nostalgic when we remember & miss those beautiful moments in our lives. We won’t be nostalgic for bad moments or situations. So, why not? If it puts a smile on our faces…
Faithfully yours … Hanan
I’m agree with the persons who writte before me. I think that’s sometimes we need remember some situations, places, persons,…And remember these things help us to assess ( I’m not sure if it’s the correct verb. It’s the gmail translation of “valorar”) the present time, the present moment.Also, sometimes when we remeber somebody who is not by our side, we feel close to us.
The important for me it’s not lose something of the present cause be living in the past.
Kisses from Barcelona
Nostalgia is a sad feeling, but in that period, you need sometimes to.
To understand some things, not especially to put yourself in expressing law feelings.
Maybe nostalgia comes from merely feelings, that are blocked in a place. Or else, expression of a time we have problems to let go.
The fact is that your lucidity permits you to leave that mood, at the date you decided to. It is mastered, so what’s wrong?
On the contrary, that was about good vibrations in return.
Nevertheless, it seems you like to show you’re a human, not a guide.
And to be wise does not mean we are unaffected.
Love.
I think nostalgia can sometimes be seen as a bad thing as oft times when it comes to us it is due to the loss (or realisation of the loss) of something; something that means those beautiful moments dancing like fireflies in the reedy mists of our memory can never be recreated.
Friends gone long on their seperate ways, places we no longer live, youthful energy and enthusiasm it’s harder to muster…
Well, that and listening to this Joan Baez ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGMHSbcd_qI ) song on repeat ten too many times can create some melancholy connotations :D
Nostalgic are not = Sad. It´s the opposite. But. And. Memories - can help you - save you - thrue difficult moments….i am sure that the “survivors” in the c-camps during the second world war - and people around the world today who lives under extremly difficult circumstances they can´t control by themselves - survived/s mentally because of good memories back from the past…..it´s equal to story-telling. Imagination. We travel. Within. Thrue spaces. Thrue time. Cross the borders. And connect. With ourselves and with each other. It keeps us ALIVE. Living. Loving.I have always interacted the past with the present. And never separeted the two…..and drew a line. Between. That is too rationell for me. And children more than anyone…..LOVES it.
oLA Paulo.
Via a reportagem no Fantástico ontem.
Só por meio dela que soube da existência de seu blog e por isso escrevo-lhe para parabenizar por seus livros, mas não tive oportunidade de ler nenhum ainda, pois são muito caros aqui no Brasil e que também adoro escrever.
Um abraço
Being Nostalgic from time to time enables us to value life for what it is.
Actually, the older we get the more complicated we become.
The simple things which used to make us happy are no more simple but rather more complicated.
So naturally, your mind tries to push you to feel what you used to feel before but unfortunately you are pushed into Nostalgia.
To Paulo,
I wonder if you have visited Alexandria in Egypt??
I am very much willing to invite you to see it from the eyes of an Alexandrian who believes that he is one of its guardians.
I bet you’ll feel nostalgic a couple of months after you make such a visit!!
Love,
Wagih
What we are today, as persons,souls, it is the result of all the moments we have lived. Our Aura has become richer, because of our experiences. Nostalgia is a greek word, again.! It carries the meaning of ‘missing something’. As we are ‘prisoners’of the Time, in this dimension to be able to look back with nostalgia is a “power’ of our FANTASIA. Time has the ability to ‘heal’ our wounds, so even when we look back, our memories are covered by a..pink veil. Of course, dear Paulo Coelho, we will be ..nostalgic and miss you in ‘you tube’…
LOVE.
THELMA
When you say you feel nostalgic, people tend to ask you if you are alright. Maybe mixing it up with depression.
Being away from my original home and the chosen home, friends and of whats left of my family for quite long times sometimes, often makes me feel nostalgic when I remember certain moments, places or songs.
But that’s alright. That’s Life.It just gets unhealthy when you get stuck in this and can’t get out and enjoy the Life the way it is now.
There is nothing wrong with nostalgia as long as it lasts only for a short while. It is a sort of refuge in the past, in the good moments of the past. I guess that it is a natural response from our bodies after having thought too much of the future in order to balance ourselves.
The only complete satisfaction resides in enjoying the present because it is the only one which can take us beyond everything else, into eternity!
If people were worried that there was something wrong, I believe that they care about you, there is no other reason, so you are a lucky person because many people care about your soul!
Have a wonderful week and may God bless you during your travelling for fun! It’s great to have a vacantion from time to time, to be able just to enjoy life, without pressures of any kind. I wish you to have a great time in your life wherever you go and whatever you do! ;-)
Love and appreciation,
Carmen Larisa
Dear Thelma I feel the same way about the “pink veil” when it comes to nostalgia. But nevertheless it’s there for a reason, maybe to remind us of who we are or more importantly what our dreams are. I know the feeling very well, I left home when I was 17, I left my family, language and culture behind me, so nostalgia to me signifies roots I maybe no longer have.
Olá Dom Paulo Coelho! Resolvi deslizar pelo seu site após ver (por acidente) o endereço sendo citado ontem em um programa fantasioso da rede globo. Acabei interessado, antes de tudo, por seu blog (viva a Internet local onde até formigas como eu podem ter um espaço), porém não entendo inglês e não posso ler nada…
My dear Rabsaris, you mentioned ‘roots’.So what your are today, you are because of your…’rooots’. Maybe you breath the air of another place, but your homeland is there in your heart and soul. Each one of us carries a whole world in our minds and memories and ‘nostalgia’ are our treasures.
LOVE, THELMA
Prezado Paulo,
Acompanhei a entrevista que o Zeca Camargo fez com você e que foi ao ar ontem no Fantástico. Fico meio atordoada toda vez que ouço qualquer coisa que você diga: Tudo vem carregado de uma representatividade intensa, ainda que sejam apenas frases, palavras. Saiba que você me inspirou ontem a agir de modo diferente, mudança que eu sinto ter sido para melhor, como uma porta que se abriu para uma oportunidade de libertação. Pode parecer meio brega o que estou dizendo, mas é a verdade. Foi muito forte e eu agradeço. Fico feliz que você se disponha tão generosamente com o mundo e reparta suas iluminações conosco. É um privilégio saber que minha jornada teve acesso à sua. Fique com Deus, abraços carinhosos diretamente de Olinda-Pernambuco.
Oh.. nostalgic mood. It’s so wonderful! When you remember the most unforgettable moments of your life, they make you feel happier than you are now. There is nothing bad in it. You live, you feel and you remember. Feeling nostalgic doesn’t mean that you are in a depressed mood. In my opinion, the more nostalgic moments we have, the happier we will be. I absolutely agree with Thelma because nostalgia are invaluable treasures.
Love, Ugen.
Oi Paulo, como muuuuitas pessoas vi ontem sua entrevista no Fantástico e por lá fiquei sabendo do seu blog e tudo mais…
Vi que vc recebe fotos de leitores com livros seus, então eu até tirei a foto com os livros que eu li mas não sei como eu posso te mandar. Enfim, gostei do seu blog, infelizmente eu ainda* faço ingles e não posso entender tudo, mas algumas partes eu pude entender :)
Ah! e mto obrigada pelas coisas que aprendi lendo seus livros.
Beijos :*
Paolo,
Nostalgia is a wonderful barometer of mood. When I feel nostalgic I pay attention to the accompanying mood. Am I sad, or does my mouth twist with the remembrance of another time? The former reminds me to listen to the second voice and check in with my state. The latter generally comes when things are going well in my life, and it is good to know I have the presence to reflect on how far I have come in my journey; and celebrate that things are not too busy for me to enjoy a quiet reflection. Each has its use.
Doug.
The only thing I can see wrong with occasional nostalgia is that it sounds a bit like a malady that comes and goes, possibly having to do with the nose…
Guess my mood must be “mischievous…”
Really, it can be wonderful, especially with family and friends. Only not good if one gets stuck there in one’s private thoughts I think…
Being nostalgic isn’t that bad thing, because if we didn’t do have that habit we will be hollow, since in living without good memories we will loose the motivation to make thing that should bring good memories to us again, moreover it will awake our lovely memories & make us glad for some moments, and expose all our good optimistic wishes.
While taking this nostalgic behavior as stable mood for a long time could prevent us from planning to future & keep us living in a past that couldn’t be revive anymore. Also it could make us a prisoner of good memories and ideas, which once was effective but it’s not beneficial anymore…
But I believe in “It’s a must to be nostalgic from time to another, to know how beautiful was life & how beautiful it will be again”
Dear Paulo,
Nostalgic moments most often present themselves to me; I welcome them when they come.
Nostalgic feelings may remind you where you have been and how far you have travelled since. They may, as well, inspire you. Nostalgic moments may offer insight into your present, and into your future. Or they may simply serve as a temporary oasis.
Could I live without these moments? Probably. Would I want to? Absolutely not.
With love,
Diane :)
Nostalgia is good from time to time.. it can be very inspiration mood for one artist, especially writer.
Ningún problema con la nostalgia solamente que cuando alguien está nostálgico necesita cariño y los amigos estan para eso.
Un beso Paulo.
Para PAULA BENZI: te he buscado en Orkut y no te he encontrado por lo tante te dejo aquí el enlace para mandar la foto.
paulocoelhocovers@gmail.com
Un saludo.
I wish people were still nostalgic in the way they were when I was growwing up.
Me perecio que el problema no fue que Paulo este nostalgico, el problemas eramos sus lectores que como yo lo consideramos un eje de fortaleza y alegria y nos sentimos un poco a la deriva, lo bueno de todo esto es que nos damos cuenta de lo humano que siempre se presenta ante sus seguidores Paulo C. y ese contacto es insuperable……Yo
I saw one of the remarks on being nostalgic last week. I understood it as a teasingly remark. You said; you’d quit being nostalgic Sunday, and the remark, as I read it, ridiculed deciding when to be nostalgic or not. No doubt, the musical film clips, intentionally decided, was an inspiration for me personally, to go back to some past experiences during that era. They are very fun memories mostly.
Coming Friday is a one year anniversary for the death of a dear friend of mine. We often remember the dead on the day of their death. This kind of nostalgic is very sad, and it hurts to remember the loss of a dear one. I do try always to move on and live in the present, but find it a lovely tradition somehow to remember the past family and friends, for good and for bad.
OI PAULO!
SE ME PERMITE A INTIMIDADE.
HÁ ALGUNS ANOS ATRAS ESTAVA EU LIMPANDO OS BANHEIROS DA “FIESP”,QUANDO NAQUELE DIA DE COPA DO MUNDO {2002},DISSERAM:
-.CHE, ALGUNS FUNCIONÁRIOS NÃO VIERAM E VOCÊ PODE LIMPAR OS BANHEIROS DO ANFETEATRO!
-CLARO QUE SIM RESPONDI-
NAQUELE ANO ESTAVA EM CARTAZ O ESPETÁCULO MEPHISTOFELES,COM ANTONIO ABUJANRA, À QUAL FAZIA MEPHISTO.
O MEU TRABAALHO DE LIMPEZA ENCLUIA LIMPAR OS CAMARINS TAMBÉM.
ENTREI E SENTEI NA CADEIRA QUE O ATOR USAVA E FIQUEI PENSANDO….
O QUE VEM A CABEÇA DO ATOR MINUTOS ANTES DA ESTREIA?
ESTUDO,PESQUISA,DEDICAÇÃO,……
ME VEIO A MENTE UM POEMA DO VINICIUS DE MORAES…
OPERÁRIO EM CONSTRUÇÃO
E UM GRANDE SILÊNCIO FEZ-SE
DENTRO DO SEU CORAÇÃO
UM SELÊNCIO DE MARTÍRIOS
UM SILÊNCIO DE PRISÃO
UM SILÊNCIO POVOADO DE PEDIDOS DE PERDÃO
UM SILÊNCIO APAVORADO COM O MEDO EM SOLIDÃO….
TIVE UMA SENSAÇÃO QUE FOI COMO UMA PASSAGEM DO LIVRO AS VALQUIRIAS,QUE É A SENSAÇÃO DE ESTAR SENDO OBSERVADO COMO DENTRO DE UM FILME.E EU TINHA MUITO ISSO QUANDO CRIANÇA
ANOS DEPOIS SEM NUNCA TER A PRETENÇÃO DE VIR A SER ATOR,
ME TORNEI ATOR.
.CHE MOAIS!!!!
ATOR E POETA….
DESCULPA POR TER TOMADO SEU TEMPO
MUITO OBRIGADO!!!
.LUCÉLIO AUGUSSTO BORGES
.CHE MOAIS
Nostalgia…pode ser boa ou ruim…boa quando nos faz lembrar de bons momentos…revivemos sentimentos felizes…ruim quando não estamos vivendo nosso sonho…nosso dia a dia já não nos satisfaz…então aquela lembrança feliz…é uma constatação da nossa amargura atual…um aviso…para mudar o rumo…avançar ou recuar…
X
The only thing that might be wrong being nostalgic could be if the nostalgia is mingled too much with a high part of melancholy.We cannot forget past,and of course sometimes if we remember better times,sweet precious moments,that we not find nowadays anymore,is natural having this feeling of kind of regret,mean being nostalgic.
Dear Paulo,
Assim como voce eu tambem tenho a minha “semana” nostalgica. Acontece de tempos em tempos… fico calada, pensativa mas por um bom motivo. Fico feliz de poder ter realizado muitas coisas que eu gostaria de ter feito. Com todo meu respeito a voce e ao seu trabalho, estou realizando um giveaway com o seu livro O alquimista no meu blog. Sucesso sempre!! Um abraco, Vanessa
Been nostalgic is the feeling that we have when we remember any moment spent with friends and family. Is the sorrow for been away from them and homeland but at the same time it make you smile because of the great memories that we keep from them.
I think that the majority of people see nostalgy as something wrong, because we think of happiness as our natural state. It is like we are not used to accepting that we are changing from time to time. We are not statues, and we need to accept our different moods. Sometimes, nostalgy could be telling us that we need to get back to something or someone that we are missing.
I believe that we have to learn to appreciate our changing and evolving beings.
First of all i wanna say that i’m argentinian but i read and write in english so if you ever reply me ,I could de able to understand you.
HOW DO SEE NOSTALGIC?
my answer is that people see nostalgic like a disease(a bad state of the mind) ,i mean
if you are nostalgic you aren’t okey , but! if you’re happy it means that you are okey.Obviously if you’re happy , you’re okey , but the human being could feel nostalgic but at the same time fine about thoose memories or thoughts.
NOstalgic could be the solution to demote all the bad memories you can’t hide of.
GOOD NIGHTs
Hi,
I have just started to read your books. I started with Alcemist ( which was recommended by two mid-aged ladies) and continued with Veronika. I loved both of them very much! I am 28 yrs old Finnish woman and the books rise up so many questions in my life. I want to explore them and my heart. What do I want to do with my life, and what are the things that bring happiness to me. Thank you for waking up these important questions. That really matters!
After readin Alchemist, I remembered my childhood dream and started to work with that dream. Because, if you never try, you never know if you would have succeeded.
I hope all the best for you and I will be visiting your blog in the future.
BR,
Virpi (my blog is only in Finnish)
ps. Something of you reminds me of Kahlil Gibran.. :)
Waxing lyrical… or “telling stories” is all about nostalgia. We tend only to remember that which we choose to remember. Don’t you remember the good old days…;) Those were the days my friend…
Love, & look well to past days, Paul
Nostalgia. Feeling nostalgic can be like a drug. A feeling we can loose ourselves in sometimes. Longing for something that we feel has past makes us feel very lonely here because it makes us think that something good is not existing anymore. As if abandoned to dark forest that’s not on the map anymore. From time to time this feeling tries to jump on everybody. If we would realise that anything good blossems and multiplies, and that love never dies, then we would not feel the past as something that is lost anymore.
You can also access your past (for example loving memories) as something that is found today as an invisible powersource that stays with you here and for the rest of your future life if you wish.
But for me that is not nostalgia, although on the outside it seems similar. The past, the future and the present are tree in One on some deeper level of life.
Nostalgia wants us to feel small and lost.
And if we do loose things, you can only loose things that weren’t yours or weren’t you in the first place. And that is meant to feel as a blessing.
Interesting questions, thank you!
Francisca
Nostalgia, like all emotion, is neither good nor bad. It depends on our relationship with it because that is what defines it for us. Each of us has a relationship with our pasts and the quality of that relationship defines who we are becoming. At one end of the scale is a constant repetition because we allow our pasts to possess us and define our futures. At the other end is the ability to walk through the life and leave no tracks because we no longer carry our pasts behind us as burdens and reasons for being.
For me nostalgia can be a feeling that can be as simple as a fond smile for something I once was, a memory of another life, to a full blown emotional charge that takes me over. If it is the latter then I know I am still possessed by that part of my past and it is then for me to decide whether I still wish to carry it or not, or whether I wish to face it, acquit it with honour and lay it to rest. To become at peace with it.
Love and blessings
Rebecca
Hello,
I’ve noticed too that the icon on MySpace is a sad little “smiley” for the mood “nostalgic”.
Only MySpace designers might think that there is some problem with that - or they just didn’t find a better smiley.
Best,
Li
I like to feel “nostalgic” from time to time .. it reminds me of good old days ..
sometimes it may feels sad, if the memory “includes” a specific person who is not there anymore in my life ..
Being “nostalgic” is a good thing in my veiw, cuz it shows how much u cherich the memory u have in ur mind ..
Peace ..
Hi Paulo,
I don’t think that a bit of nostalgy is bad. Nostalgy would certainly be bad if you didn’t do anything aside being nostalgic in your life.
love
Amanda
Maybe one could call beautiful memories nostalgic and sad memories just part of remebering. Because, in the future some sad memories can be beautiful and thereby goes by as nostalgic. I also think nostalgia puts the now in perspective. It proves the now and it also proves past presents.
Hej Paulo Coelho.
I do not think, that being nostaligic is something bad…as you said: if its just for some time. It is even a good thing, contemplating about and reflecting the past. But I’m not sure if it is necessary to pass it on to all of your “friends” in myspace…
Have a nice holiday!!
Anja
In my “real” life, when I’m especially emotion driven I lean toward nostalgic. But my blog is all about being nostalgic as it concerns our values, our work ethic, our appreciations. Yesterday I posted a clip about Time Warp Wives that you’d probably get a kick out of. Have wonderful travels. Blessings… Polly
Nostalgic almost sounds like melancholy which sounds like sad and then we cuold ask: What’s wrong with being sad?
I think nothing is wrong, every emotion is human and it’s supposed to be in you. If think that something is “wrong”, there sure is something wrong. Thne again how can make the separation between right and wrong as in good and bad if you don’t stop to reflect your feelings? Do you have to feel bad and wrong in order to feel good and love? Go figure….
Love, Sanna
there’s nothing wrong about being nostalgic unless you choose nostalgy as a way of living.. i believe that being nostalgic help us remind those things we learned about past experiences, and even maybe realize about a trainning we didn’t get during a good or a bad experience because it wasn’t the right time to learn it so being nostalgic permit us to go back in time and review our experiences…
Sash
What we see wrong with nostalgia is the same that we see wrong with every other emotion that isn’t euphoria or something close to it. Our society places too much emphasis on being absolutely happy and fine all the time, this is actually why some many people are depressed. By feeling the need to be happy all the time we don’t learn to cope with or embrace any emotion that is less than perfect; this leads to extremes rather than a nice spectrum of feelings.
There is nothing wrong with nostalgia, depression, anger, or even rage as long as we’re in control of these feelings and have a desire to solve and understand them. If more people felt less afraid of their less than happy emotions we would have less of these emotions.
I’m not an expert, this is just the way i see it.
There is nothing wrong with being nostalgic..at all… I think people think it is bad because the face when you are nostalgic on myspace looks sad almost. lol
Olá, Paulo!
Assim como muitos, também vi sua entrevista no Fantástico e fiquei sabendo da existência do seu blog. Achei muito interessante, só é uma pena que nem todos possam entendê-lo.
Escrevo-lhe para dizer que li uma de suas peças, Diário de um Mago. Gostei muito. Já percorri o caminho de Santiago de Compostela (mas de carro, hehe) e gostei muito depois de tê-lo visto em seu livro. Mas também quero mostrar-lhe uma coisa, afinal, o blog é um sítio eletrônico público onde as pessoas possuem única e exclusivamente para mostrar sua opinião.
Perambulando pelos blogs de conhecidos (sou aqui de Foz do Iguaçu), achei esse http://www.escritoamao.blogspot.com, e vi que há um poema onde cita o nome de vários escritores, inclusive o seu, mas não de uma forma tão agradável assim. Nada pessoal. É uma crítica e acho que todos elas deveriam ser bem-vindas.
Admiro seu trabalho, assim como o do colega que escreveu este poema. Afinal, não há diferença nenhuma.
Um abraço, Gabriela.
I see nostalgia as a sense of longing. It is this strong sense of sentimental yearning that sends us back through our memories to search for ___?___ (each of us must fill in the blank as it’s different for us all). One thing that I’m a bit nostalgic for at times is when my daughters were little and all the fun things we used to do together. We still do many things together, but it is all scheduled around their “grown-up” schedules of jobs, vacation time, money, etc. I guess I would even say that my nostalgia is for just a “simpler” time.
Take care and have a very relaxing vacation full of memory-making events and places that will have you adding them to your “nostalgia collection.” :-)
I’m a nostalgic person. And the others thinks that i’m wrong… maybe i am, because i don’t know why i feel nostalgic. It’s a status in my life. And when I realize about that it’s when “other lifes” thoughts became stronger in my mind.
And, I like to feel nostalgic… In this way I can observe world in other ways…I can feel the air breathing through my skin…I can touch the universe…
Hi,
There’s nothing wrong with being nostalgic. Sometimes it can be a wonderful feeling to live again the magic we lived before.
BTW I think that in nowadays there’s no much space for it, anyway. We have to live today, and be ready for tomorrow, always looking ahead, never looking back.
This is silly because if you forget about the past, you can also forget about the mistakes that you did, and do it all over again.
Have a nice day!
Drika
Thanks for posting the sound of music on myspace, it reminds me of those times when i was watching films with my grandma. I realize now that those times with those movies, that seemed to be more realistic than our “reality”. So i tend aswell to be a little nostalgic, but it strengthens me for bringing those healing moments in nowadays trouble and weaknessdriven times
Thanks for your post again
Greetings from Germany
Georg
I cherish those moments of nostalgia. They bring a nice chill, sometimes little butterflies in my stomach. Certain smells, food, music from home… from my childhood, my adolescence.
Looking through old pictures remind me of places I haven’ been in a long time, and bring some unforgeable memories.
A lot of people those days are scattered all over the globe; looking for a better living, a good job or to be with a loved one, for one reason or the other, we leave the familiar places, the familiar faces… the original home. We make new home, new friends and new family, but always somewhere inside there is a beautiful place that we carry, we are not always necessarily aware of it, but from time to time, we get little reminders, and get that beautiful nostalgic feeling, and some times it is sad, but not for long, because we know that we have it good right here.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with being nostalgic from time to time. This is somekind of a force that makes you be grateful for the life you have lived, the people you have meet, makes you apreciate the person you are at the moment, and clarifies the person you want to become in the future. To me, being nostalgic makes you understand the purpose of life: live it to the fullest and make the best of it!!! After the magic nostalgic moment, which many people migth think that is when you are in a weak and vulnerable position, a more secure and determine person derrived from whithing yourself to continue the journey that awaits, the one God planned for you!!!
When I’m nostalgic, I’m deeply appreciating and celebrating the past moments, that still touch me no matter how long ago they happened. This often seems to happen when I’m in a restaurant with my boyfriend. My mind travels to the other times I’ve been to restaurants, cos they are always some sort of special moments and usually abroad during memorable travels. I’ve always visited home for some time every summer since I left 4 years ago and during those times I often go back to my old habits of the years of being a youth, sitting in front of my window, writing in my notebook, longing for the adventures of the future and for more creativity to hit me. It gives me room to dream. …And then comes the time to act.
hi. firstly i must congratulate you over the tremendous success of all you books. the one i read first was THE ALCHEMIST and absolutely enjoyed it.i liked it even better after reading THE SECRET by RHONDA BYRNE.there is a strong underlying principle in both the books - about the soul of the world and realizing your dreams.thank you so much for all that your books have taught me and inspired me.cheers
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being nostalgic. there’s just that feeling of longing.. that strong desire to go back to your past where everything was less chaotic.. like your childhood.
sometimes, no, each time i feel nostalgia, it makes me want to cry, i don’t know where to hide, i want to scream, most of the time it makes me awfully sad. but then, i’d realize soon after how much i should appreciate life, my family, all the blessings from God. being nostalgic inspires me to move on, it actually fires me up and gets me to focus on my dreams..
Nostalgia is Saudades so no problem there for us portuguese speakers.
Hello!
To Mr. Paolo:
Good Day!
I am a high school student having a novel report for on of your famous books, The Valkyries.
I am having a hard time finding its historical background.
As the author of the book itself, I believe that you will be able to provide me the true historical background of the novel.
Would you be kind enough to e-mail me its historical background?
My greatest thanks has been given to you!
Again, Thank You!
I think that nostalgic feeling by itself is not bad. If you feel nostalgic about something, it means that you miss something good, a feeling, an event, people, places etc…
If you miss them it means that you have been lucky enough to experience, feel and appreciate. So if you look at the nostalgic feeling from the global point of view, it’s a view and rememberance of a very positive feeling projected into the present. Hope my thoughts were not too complicated.
I have ellaborated the subject in my blog http://lifeprobabilities.blogspot.com/
Dear Paulo:
On Monday, I started to think about the past. Why did certain things happen to me. Why did I make the choices I made? During this process, I entered a state that I really couldn’t describe. I usually call it my “blah” mood.
I’ve been reading your new book Brida, which amazingly enough came to me at the right time. I find myself searching for a soul mate and undertaking a spiritual journey. While reading about the tradition of the moon and the tradition of the sun, I got to thinking about what that meant.
I came into work and immediately googled “tradition of the moon”. To my surprise, it brought me to your site and this notion of nostalgia.
I was feeling bad about my reflective feelings and the past. Then a friend, Jeff, who happens to visually impaired (although he sees the world better than many of us can even begin to imagine) said something to me that stuck. “Laticha, we have to go through these feelings. Feel the sadness, even just for a bit. You are a human being…with emotions. These feelings help us to reflect and learn about our path. Only then can we release our fears for the new things to arrive.”
I think nostalgia is an ok feeling, as Paulo pointed out, just for a week. However, for me, it usually only lasts a day. I truly feel the emotion, let it go and feel better about me.
So, Monday I felt Blah…Tuesday I had a break though, this morning, Wednesday, I looked in the mirror and said ” You are so beautiful.” Then I gave myself a big hug!
Safe trip Paulo and all…
Love,
Laticha
Dear Paulo,
I love moments of nostalgia, when they come I live them as any other moments in life but i do not keep them, I let them go, anyway they will come back.
They are sign of the precious past moments in time !
With love,
Luce
Oi, Paulo! Uma mensagem em português, pra variar. Li a matéria na Caras e vi o endereço do blog lá. Adorei a frase: “meu maior luxo é ser dono do meu tempo”. De fato, esse é o maior luxo de todos, creio.
Eu também tenho um blog que me dá muito prazer! Chama-se A pausa do tempo. Quando puder, dá uma olhada.
Seu novo livro está em pilhas e pilhas nas livrarias, já vi o primeiro capítulo amarradinho com a nova Caras, também. E semana passada saiu matéria na Playboy, muito boa!
Um grande beijo em vc e na Cris, volta e meia vou entrar aqui e comentar.
Quanto á nostalgia, bem, ela é sinal de que a gente viveu coisas boas, que merecem ser lembradas com saudade. Até!
Dear Paulo
I think you´ve got quite a few answers here..some quite similar..so…I would also have a question..can you be nostalgic about the future? I think you can..
Anyway you can write at least one book about that - the result will be good as usual!? I discovered your works just a few months ago and you make me think of the great Eliade - my favourite writer in school
Love
Nicole
La nostalgia fa parte della nostra vita!Proviamo nostalgia per i tempi passati, di solito per le cose belle che ci sono successe….arrivano i ricordi ed ecco che arriva la nostalgia. Io spesso provo nostalgia per delle persone che non sono più con me, per delle belle esperienze vissute, per dei momenti che rimangono indimenticabili e che vorrei rivivere!!
Un bacio
BArbara
When I googled the word “nostalgic” I got following definition-
“a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time”
The desire of being in the past or former time in one’s life. Many people go in that phase, and most of the times I become nostalgic too.
It is the wish of going home, reaching to the past very good memory one had and now in the present he cannot find such memories again. Being myself so far from the experience which I had achieved is asking me to become nostalgic too.
Too much of everything is bad, that is true. However, I think I like being nostalgic many of the times in my life. I remember old days and want to go back in those days or remember going back in time.
It has nothing to do with being sad, being sad is different then being nostalgic. Sad is just like feeling unhappy, sad is not in the present, sad is something related with worry but nostalgic is remembering the past or want or desire of going through the moments in the past.
We always want to remember our past and want to go back in our past simply because it is good for us too, to learn from our past and see what is going on in our present moment. It gives an impression to the people that being nostalgic the person is feeling sad but eventually that is not true.
Having sad that nostalgic is not being sad, I would rather add that, When a person is being nostalgic he goes in the moment of silent and thinks or remembers his experience about the event that happened, he sometimes may even remember those memories; it can also result in the laughter, it can also result in pain, it can also result in smile.
Sadness is always with us, it is the integral part of our day to day life. Happiness is something which a human will dream to achieve except me. I have the proud feeling that, I am some kind of happiness but again, that is wrong.
Being nostalgic is true to many of us, and we go or become nostalgic which does not mean we are sad but it means we are feeling little bit about our past and we want to cherish those memories once again in the near future.
Nostalgia can be understood as something other that fondly remembering events in the past. It can be understood as a special kind of remembering which involves an idealization of past circumstances — Focussing on the ‘good’ associated with a set of events — thus remaining out of synch with reatlity. This idealization evokes pain by comparison with the current state of one’s life. ‘algos’ is translated to english as pain. Thus nostalgia is a painful return to the past. Painful because it is distorted by remembering only the perceived good of an experience — painful because current life circumstances cannot measure up to this kind of idealization.
Again not all memory review is nostalgic in this sense and current usage of the term is usually associated with reviewing fond memories. However, I believe it is the kind of nostalgic pursuit discussed above which causes people concern.
Olá Paulo,
Uma vez perguntei a um namorado o que ele tinha,e ele me disse que estava nostálgico.Fiquei triste a pensar o que seria nostalgia,logo fiquei com ciúmes do que desconhecia e sequer havia perguntado.Perguntei o que era nostalgia a ele e diante da resposta ao invés de ciúmes pude confortavelmente recordar bons momentos e flashes de minha vida tal qual ele estava fazendo.Quem não tem o que recordar não viveu.Não há nada errado em ficar uma semana em imersão da nostalgia.Além do mais somos livres.
Um grande e gentil abraço
Mônica
I have been nostalgic for 2 months now..
there is nothing with it at all..
just the fact of missing things that can never be again..and for my part, having a good feeling about it..
First, i just want you to know I really admire you as a great author and an inspirer of people like us(book lovers)…and i am glad you have this site. second, to answer your question regarding nostalgia…Isn’t being nostalgic a prelude to another great book?
Nothing is definitely wrong with being nostalgic…we can be nostalgic without being sad, maybe it just connotes sadness in a way, but in fact it is a state of being in deep thought, reminiscing…so to speak. It’s the same as being alone and not feeling lonely.
being nostalgic sometimes is part of being human, living in nostalgia is of course fruitless. till one is in human form, no harm ‘enjoying’ all the plethora of emotions it offers.
In her scheme of things, the divine mother has allotted special place to humans. free will and mind, puts man at cross roads; resulting in such a wide range of expereinces that sometimes Gods too descend on earth in human form to ‘enjoy’ this roller coster ride of human life. Nostalgia is part of the plethora. excessive of anything is bad. long before my guru had told ‘ati sarvatra barjayet’ extreams of everything is forbidden, even nostalgia.
secondly, as u grow old, u tend to become more nostalgic, so paulo dear check out u may be growing old.
love
aditya
Nostalgic
I am the person who try to fight all the time of my lif e.I am 25 and always nostalgic .Because always I try to be good mood but finaly after heard work I fall down again and again .I fall down in to my nostalgy and give my self questions .Why I didnt do what I want and fall from step nine to step 1.I have feeling that my life is ruined by me.I cant help my self I always return what I do wrong but I am on the same line I want to live I love life .Every morning I woke up I thank a god that I have legs and hands .I dont know how I start to live like I want .
I mean that nostalgy came from in side of you.You decide to do something and try hard .If its not like u imagine it breaks your neck.Maybe I ll give a simple example you want to say hi to boy that you like or maybe you want to say person who is important for you how much means for you .But you didn t say it because you are afraid about something.than the days go on and you are still with your plan in your head .one day you ll whake up and you know that is too late for everythink the boy have another girl the person is dead .Than it came .Why we are always afraid to do and say what we feel .The life is too short and we have a long letre in ours heads.
I ll tell you The mistake what people did you its later ok but the your mistake on your own self stay with you forever.
Some people confuse nostalgia with sadness. Nostagia is more like being in touch with a memory or a feeling, or maybe seeing an object that triggers things that make you feel like going back in time, for that matter it could be an incident or an experience that triggers nostalgia, I find that it could be romantic.
Nostalgia is sad when it brings up the realisation of loss, when there is nothing in my present life that brings me joy. It can be painful then. Perhaps nostalgia can teach me maturity - because surely it is foolish to feel pain over the loss of experiences that were right for their time, but are MEANT to be over. Perhaps all I need to do is to look back and be happy that what was, was.
Paulo,
I think that people often mistake nostalgia as ‘missing’’sadness’..
When we are nostalgic, we are tender. A walk back into memory tends to leave us softened, brimming with love. Hindsight is 20/20 right?
Those doorways that find us and show us our younger selves are gifts indeed. I don’t think that it’s ‘missing’ that we feel but perhaps the magnitude of ‘how far’ we have traveled to here.
Blessings~
Hi,
That’s funny because you talk about nostalgia… and I met a guy with whom I have a extraordinary day and he forgot his book in my purse, The Zahir… He told me to look at a page that he marked, one that speaks about liberty. Now, no more news… that’s not cool to take Paulo Coehlo that way. ;)
Well, I dont know if what I feel is nostalgia or the consideration that being a woman with big dreams is sometimes harder to live… than being a man. Same if times have changed…
Paulo,
Não existe absolutamente nada errado em sentir nostalgia. A língua portuguesa é a única que conheço que tem uma palavra linda que define a nostalgia, “saudade”. O que em Inglês a tradução, em minha opinião, seria “ longing for’. O que é muito diferente de sentir tristeza. Gostaria muito de ler o seu novo livro, espero que algum amigo solidário me envie um exemplar do Brasil.
Beijos
Joana
Houston. Tx
as i see most of you think theres nothing wrong with being nostalgic… but who knows what to do if someone cant stop dreamin about yesterday,and thinks the precious things all belongs to the past, because the things what happened will get a gold frame,and be the thing what we call : “our life” in our mind..
its so easy to say “live your life and dont think about the past” ,..yes ..it sounds easy and nice but how to avoid the past the memories what made us to what we are now…? does anybody knows? …
Nostalgia, memories we don’t want to forget and want to relish….part of our past&