The world is having a bit of a Y2K moment. Have you noticed? Dr Martens, Friends T-shirts, and Gilmore Girls binge marathons are popping up like psilocybin toadstools (no longer a sign of dancing faeries but dancing TikTokers).
I’m all for this nostalgia. I’m buying those relaunched 90s lipstick shades as fast as you can say Central Perk and You’ve Got Mail. But this is nothing new. I’m known in my family for my trunks (yes, trunks) of keepsakes and memory boxes. Nostalgia is my favourite feeling, and I recently learnt that, far from being stuck in the past, it’s very beneficial to well-being and mental health.
CEO of The Happiness Research Institute, Meik Wiking, writes in his book The Art of Making Memories: “Happiness research suggests that people are happier with their lives if they tend to hold a positive, nostalgic view of the past. Nostalgia is a universal and ancient human emotion and, today, academics across the world are studying how it can produce positive feelings, boost our self-esteem and increase our sense of being loved by another.”
So it makes sense we are collectively going gooey for the autumnal shades and ‘cutesy demureness’ of the pre-smartphone/social media era, when we used fold-out maps larger than our bodies and telephone booths to ring our parents – in my fellow writer’s case, a booth at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower no less (if that’s not a postcard for nostalgia, I don’t know what is).
Reminiscing isn’t limited to those who lived through bygone times; younger generations enjoy the warm and fuzzies they evoke, too. It’s group healing, a nostalgic, safe space where we can find respite from screens, hustle-culture, and traumatising world events. It may help explain why people are taking extreme (tree-climbing) measures to see Oasis reunion concerts and why nostalgia travel is trending hard.
The 90s might not be your ‘jam’, but never fear; there are other ways to nurture nostalgia. Wiking recommends “harnessing the power of firsts”. After gathering stories from people across the globe in a quest to find out what happy memories are made of, he found that “People were remembering experiences that were novel, meaningful, emotional and engaged the senses”.
It could be something like the first time you saw snow or the smell of your grandmother’s house.
Travel features so prominently in our happy memories because it ticks all those boxes – it’s an incredible way to harness the power of firsts. The first time on a plane. The first time travelling on your own. The first time visiting far-flung family in five years. New food, new smells, new places to get lost in (with fold-out maps that never seem to refold neatly).
But doing something novel doesn’t mean you need to fly across the globe. It can be as simple as trying out a new coffee shop with an old friend – just special moments in our everyday lives.
Don’t forget to take a snapshot (maybe whip out the Polaroid camera) and keep the coffee-stained coaster so you can feel nostalgic about it for years to come!
Mindful Musings
What the world was musing over this past week
X-files
The world’s first private spacewalk recently took place courtesy of a tech billionaire and SpaceX. One small step for Isaacman…
‘Cabspotting’ on London’s streets
40 of London’s iconic black cabs will get a Saffer makeover, wrapped in images of the Mother City to celebrate Norse Atlantic Airways’ new Gatwick-Cape Town flights.
Like, just relax, dude
Could doing less be the secret to productivity? Say goodbye to pushing yourself, and hello to letting go.
Central Perk
Puzzling over where to get your cup of Joe(y)? Here’s a guide to SA’s best coffee deals. It’s the perfect excuse to catch up with Friends!
