Why the intense yearning for the old days as we age?
January 28, 2025
What is it about this age the brings up a kind of nostalgic sorrow, that deep, intense yearning for the old days?
That kind of homesickness that goes beyond missing a place or a person. I’ve written about “hiraeth” before–that deep, bittersweet longing and nostalgia that’s hard to put into words.
Author Nina George captured it well in The Little Paris Bookshop:
Saudade of life.. a soft, warm feeling of sorrow–for everything, for nothing. A yearning for one’s childhood when the days would merge into one another and the passing of time was no consequence, the sense of being loved in a way that will never come again; a unique experience of abandon, everything words can not capture.
When we long for the good old days, we’re not so much longing for the world the way it was then, but more ourworld. The way ourworld was when we were children with no responsibilities.
Even while the greater world was unfair and not so great in so many ways, childhood is when most of us felt a sense of being taken care of. Or rather, being taken care of was taken for granted. We were innocent of all the horrors that life entailed, and certainly couldn’t have anticipated what is before us now.
I always feel the need to “caveat” these discussions because yes, many children are abused and suffered. Not every child is cared for or feels cared for.
But many children felt a sense of security that we never quite regain once we’re grown up. And that’s what I’m talking about today.
The world can be a harsh place and if we haven’t learned that young, we certainly know it by the time we are seniors. I think that’s why we long to go back–back to a time when we were innocent of the harsh realities of life.
So every time someone longs for the good old days, that’s what I think they long for. Those carefree days of youthful abandon, when we had no responsibilities and no sense of consequences.
The harshness of the world is too much sometimes. Although I have to admit, it was never not-harsh. But there was an innocence to childhood that was so lovely and so fleeting.
Here you’ll find my blog, some of my essays, published writing, and my solo performances. There’s also a link to my Etsy shop for healing and grief tools offered through A Healing Spirit.
I love comments, so if something resonates with you in any way, don’t hesitate to leave a comment on my blog. Thank you for stopping by–oh, and why not subscribe so you don’t miss a single post?
The harshness of the world is too much sometimes. Although I have to admit, it was never not-harsh. But there was an innocence to childhood that was so lovely and so fleeting.
Yes…and we had no idea just how fleeting it would be….