Nostalgia — The Art of Pleasant Reminiscing.

My favourite part of Christmas is putting up my Christmas tree.

With every bauble, star and bell that I put up, my mind goes down memory lane, rehashing images of the many Christmases of my childhood — The innumerable carol singing practices, the small squabbles we had on who would play the tambourine, and the excitement on Christmas eve as we went house to house dressed in our best, carrying our musical instruments and belting out songs with fervour and zeal.

My thoughts go back to all the fried snacks my mother made — delicacies to be shared with our neighbours, and some of course to be had by us. Both me and my sister sat around the kitchen table, being part of all the busyness in between mouthfuls of rose cookies, diamond cuts and marzipans.

As I sit by my Christmas tree, allowing myself to soak in this nostalgia and relive the magic it evokes; I am filled with happiness and a renewed sense of gratitude to the life that was.

I revel in these bittersweet memories ; they submerge me into the past and envelope me with feelings of both happiness and longing — at the same time.

We all experience nostalgia — familiar music, running into an old friend, a particular smell, old photographs, driving past your school, and other personally meaningful life events. Some of these or all of them can cause the reward centers of our brain to light up with feelings of love, belonging and connection — Is it, then any wonder that we enjoy these habitual retreats to the good ole’ days.

Nostalgia is not about living in the past . Far from it . it’s about going on a short trip to a period of your own choosing, exploring the treasures that our mind holds about that time and returning back to attend to the future with a restored sense of enthusiasm and hope.

Nostalgia has been very therapeutic for me. Immersing myself in a cascade of meaningful memories for short periods is a definite mood booster. Its helped me neutralize the effects of loneliness, pain and anxiety. It’s akin to putting on a warm jacket on a cold night- the jacket protecting me from the cold air, and allowing me to share stories from the bygone days with an air of wistfulness.

There is no better way to deal with life’s ennui than this laidback repose that offer us an anchor to the past.

Research has given a thumbs up to the deliberate practice of Nostalgia; To use it as a channel to conjure up positive memories that leave you with a feeling of connectedness and satisfaction.

Here are a few ways to engage in Nostalgia -

In a day, thousands of thoughts go through our heads. Lets make a choice to deliberately bring to mind our cherished personal moments — times with close friends or loved ones, important rituals like weddings or reunions or graduation or any other treasured experience for that instant feeling of warmth and love.

Surround yourself with things that have emotional significance in your life. A souvenir from a trip with a loved one, pictures of a family holiday — Give space to the objects that matter. Take time to revisit these times in your minds eye and appreciate the road you’ve travelled and the people you’ve met along the way.

Each of us have a unique life story which we may not have found the time to talk or write about. I’ve begun to write down my story and it is a deeply satisfying experience…..Just spending time delving into the archives of my memory to pull out those meaningful life events and writing about them is such a gratifying feeling. It seems to give my life a sense of who I’ve been — an identity over time.

There’s nothing more convincing than testing out something for oneself. So go ahead, dive into your repository of fond memories, drown in them for a while and allow nostalgia to influence you to look at life with more positivity and inspiration.