Nostalgia and Legacy

 This morning, I am doing proctoring for a standardized test for my Juniors in another classroom at the high school where I teach in Baltimore.  The classroom is not one of my regular class locations, but rather is the class for the new Spanish teacher, Mr. Verges.  Verges started as Spanish teacher this year, and he is actually a fascinating guy - he is into music, and the decor of his room consists of a number of musical instruments, including a Selmer clarinet, a Les Paul guitar, a Hohner chromatic harmonica, and a Buscher alto saxophone.  I had the privilege of talking to him one day during a break in classes, and come to find out he is quite the music aficionado.  We talked briefly about music, and turns out some of his tastes are similar to mine, while others are divergent - he is an eclectic musical conisseur.  It is very interesting and stimulating to get to know many of our new teachers here, as many of them are very gifted and they are also unique in experience and personalities, which again affirms that each of us are created in God's image with an individuality he instilled in each of us.  Looking around at Mr. Verges' comfortably cluttered classroom, I was struck with a bit of an epiphany regarding a book I had that is authored by Anthony Esolen concerning the restoration of boyhood.  Some of Verges' assorted bric-a-brac inspired me to think a little about my past and how nostalgia is a key to legacy.  So, I wanted to reflect on that a bit as I am sitting here monitoring my students as they test. 

Many of our likes, dislikes, and other individual attributes we each have are rooted in our childhood experiences, and we all have those days when something just strikes us that makes us fondly recall those things and the experiences that shaped them.  A few days ago I was also having an interesting conversation with the maintenance guy here at the school, and he was telling me that there is a song he cannot remember and doesn't know the title of, but whenever he hears it, the song evokes a response.  His experience mirrors many of us because we have all had those moments.  A certain song may not even evoke a specific chronological memory even, but just a feeling - for me, the sound of the Four Freshmen, the color teal, and a rainy day evoke a good, cozy feeling for me too.  It is not a feeling I can explain, and it isn't even about an event I have actually lived, but you feel it and understand what is going on.  That is a part of you that is called the "unspoken perimeter" (a term of my own invention) of your personality.  It is part of the real you that is often obscured by the routine of life, and often you cannot share it because not everyone will appreciate or understand it.  You can find ways to creatively express that though, and it can be in things such as a color of a shirt you purchase, or the rug or curtains you furnish your room or house with.  These little unspoken expressions of that "unspoken perimeter" make an invisible part of yourself visible.  So, how does that relate to nostalgia and legacy?

There are many memories and past experiences that shape our tastes in things, and nostalgia plays a big role in shaping us into the person we as an individual becomes.  That is why our memories have such a powerful impact on us.  And, our nostalgia will ultimately become our legacy to others, and our legacy today may be the nostalgia that shapes someone else we influence tomorrow, and that is where nostalgia and legacy meet.  The nostalgia that inspires us is also the legacy of someone who lived before us too in many cases - it could be our parents, grandparents, or some other influential person who impacted our lives. The connection between nostalgia and legacy therefore is integral, as it forms us in ways that we may not fully realize until later.

Being I had to replace Dr. Esolen's book, I want to begin reflecting on his material in the near future as well.  Dr. Esolen has written several books about how these very things create an integral part of our faith as well, and this is definitely worth exploring in more detail.  This is an area which is oft-neglected, mainly because it is sort of hard to pinpoint and articulate.  And, it relates to many other things as well, such as our dreams, our hobbies, our personal likes and dislikes, etc.  However, I think it does a disservice when we ignore often what we cannot explain, because I feel that we miss some important treasures we could discover in our own lives too.  One of the reasons I write so much - it started with journaling, then evolved to blogs like this - is that it is a way to grab that flicker of inspiration before it passes, and then articulate it in such a way that it helps bring clarity to my own mind as well as inspiring others.  Today, for instance, it was my colleague Mr. Verges and his delightfully cluttered classroom that was the flicker of inspiration, but on other days it could be something else.  Mr. Verges reminded me of my own cluttered home office I once had a year ago, and although I have recovered that to a degree, it evoked some nostalgia of my own of recent events.  I often do miss having that massive CD collection, my books, and my own assorted bric-a-brac surrounding me, and when I had a separate home office like that it was a bit of a sanctuary for me too. I will get that again soon enough - after all, it was only stuff and can be easily replaced (in the case of the CD collection, I was able to recover most of it as digital downloads, which means what once took up half a room can now fit into the palm of my hand). And, for the time being I at least have a good comfortable makeshift living space/office as well.  In time, there will probably be some nostalgic feelings about that as well. 

I am sure that this will be a topic we revisit again in the future, as I don't believe I adequately addressed it completely here.  My reflections on Esolen's work later will shed some light on things I am sure, and it will remain to be seen how much further this area can be explored.  Thanks again for allowing me to share, and will see you next time.