I look back with a mix of emotions: sadness for the people who are gone, nostalgia for times that have passed, but immense gratitude for the wonderful opportunities that came my way.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
As years passed away I have formed the habit of looking back upon that former self as upon another person, the remembrance of whose emotions has been a solace in adversity and added zest to the enjoyment of prosperity.
I can look back on my life, where there have been moments where things might have gone the other way. Everything is like stepping stones, and I've seen people I admire falter. We're all vulnerable.
I prefer to remember the happy things over 10 years, the things that went well. Let me see, what did go well?
From about 5 years old on, I was very contemplative and started to become constantly filled with nostalgia for the present moment and the feeling that it's always fleeting.
One can't help but be a bit melancholy when you see how the world has changed, and I don't mean that nostalgically.
There is no word for feeling nostalgic about the future, but that's what a parent's tears often are, a nostalgia for something that has not yet occurred. They are the pain of hope, the helplessness of hope, and finally, the surrender to hope.
Nostalgia is something we think of as fuzzy. But it's pain. Pain concerning the past.
I am not among those who engage in nostalgia, because I think that locks you into a moment in time without thinking about where you are, what needs to be done now.
I'm not a nostalgic person: I never look back; I always forget.
I always make a distinction between nostalgia and sentimentality. Nostalgia is genuine - you mourn things that actually happened.