"Looking Back"

《海鷗》-  翁倩玉   (YouTube video)

When we were young, we were more like 海鷗:

海鷗　飛在　藍藍　海上　不怕　狂風巨浪
揮著　翅膀　看著　遠方　不會　迷失方向
飛的越高　看的越遠　它在找尋理想 ……..

作詞：孫儀    作曲：劉家昌

Reminiscing, or looking back, often makes me feel nostalgic.

It is natural to feel nostalgic about significant parts of our past.

Reminiscence is not just recall, it is a reflection.

When does the time come in life when you begin to look back affectionately at things gone by?

I like to reminisce, and I have done that quite often. My spouse thinks I am getting old, and perhaps having some indication of "mental deterioration".

As a matter of fact, reminiscence can be used as a therapy to “improve psychological well-being”, or “maintain good mental health”, especially for the "old" people.

That is another reason why I have been keeping a "journal", often with photos attached, on my personal blog. In a way, when I am becoming “really old” and without depending on my "autobiographical memory", I can look my life path inward and back to the past. It is like a "time- map" of my world. And if I draw and document the journal entries accurately (with day, month, year and place), I shall know when and where I am then.

What were the states of mind of the ancient Chinese poets when they were reminiscing about their past life experiences?

"行到水窮處，坐看雲起時。"        王維

"回首向來蕭瑟處，歸去，也無風雨也無晴。"         蘇軾


Yeh Tze