I certainly don’t want to mistake the New York Times or Fox News
Network for the Gospel. But there is
good news in secular media---these two sources and many others. I am delighted to read and appropriate good
news wherever I can get it. Some good
news is inherently good. It is good news
for whoever finds it. Other times, good
news becomes good news when I am able to apply it to my situation. One such example just happened for me.
I was reading the daily newspaper. That is not novel. I read about four newspapers daily---either
in hard copy or online. I like to be
informed and I think I am basically curious---or nosy! I like to know what’s going on, even though
most of the time it probably does not affect my life in any significant
way. And so it was that I turned to an
article about nostalgia.
It seemed like it could be interesting. Anyone my age has experienced nostalgia---a
memory, perhaps, longing for some piece or version of the past. I began reading without much expectation that
I would get anything out of the article except for some information. I had no clue that nostalgia could be as
important as it apparently is. And I had
little clue that it had some interesting spiritual implications.
The story opens by talking about a university professor who
had just left the University of North Carolina for a job at the University in
Southampton, England. Dr. Constantine
Sedikides met with one of his new colleagues and talked about his recent,
powerful experiences of nostalgia of his Chapel Hill days. He fondly shared stories of Tar Heel sports
events, southern food, etc. His
colleague suggested he was depressed---sad at having “lost” all those previous
Carolinian ties.
But it was not depression.
It was nostalgia. And this pulled
me on into the article and some fascinating awareness of contemporary research
into the nature and function of nostalgia.
The first point made underscored the positive function of
nostalgia. Sedikides noted, “Nostalgia made me feel that my life had roots
and continuity. It made me feel good
about myself and my relationships. It
provided a texture to my life and gave me strength to move forward.” There are some amazing contentions within
this quotation.
I like the link
between nostalgia and the twin ideas of roots and continuity. I am sure there is a relationship between
having roots and having meaning in life.
If this relationship can be sustained over time, i.e. continuity, then
we have a chance for meaning in life, rather than just a meaningful event. Nostalgia makes people feel good about
themselves and their relationships.
This seems very true
to me. I look back over my life and
think about the key relationships that I have been privileged to have, and I
feel very rich. Nostalgia is a past
vindicator of the future I can yet have.
Feeling good about myself yesterday enables me to engage tomorrow with
confidence. As the article says,
nostalgia gives texture to my life.
Texture is a “feel” for myself, others and things in general. With this texture comes strength.
I like the way Clay
Routledge of North Dakota State University puts it. “Nostalgia serves a crucial existential
function…It brings to mind cherished experiences that assure us we are valued
people who have meaningful lives. Some of our research shows that people who
regularly engage in nostalgia are better at coping with concerns about death.” Who does not want to be a valued person with
a meaningful life? This is where I am
drawn to the link to spirituality. It
would be a good beginning definition of spirituality to talk about becoming a
valued person who achieves a meaningful life.
I suggest that
spiritual experiences can become building blocks of spiritual nostalgia. Spirituality is not simply an “in the moment”
fling with God. There certainly are
those kinds of moments. I recall times
of being at the ocean when I had a deep sense of God’s immense Presence. I think about the birth of my two girls and
associate those to the Profoundest Mystery of the universe. Those were events, but I can remember
them. And when I ponder them, I can be
nostalgic for the deep truth and meaning they convey. The nostalgia begins to do its spiritual
wonder.
Two other features of
nostalgia remind me of the spiritual potential of it. Nostalgia, we are told, “has been shown to
counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety. It makes people more generous to
strangers and more tolerant of outsiders.”
Counteracting loneliness, boredom and anxiety is also what I experience when
the power of the Spirit is within me. If
I truly have a Friend in God, I am not going to be lonely; I won’t be bored and
have no reason for anxiety.
With nostalgia I do
not even need to have this experience every day. Once I have had experiences with God then I
can remember. I can even be
nostalgic---and I am full of joy, strong, generous to strangers, etc. What a great gift. What good news---for the good times!
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