Nostalgia

A good old friend from a decade or so ago contacts me on one of those mobile apps and I suddenly felt nostalgic. I have stayed with his family in Germany in the 1990's and have gotten to know his wife and kids, parents, neighbors, and other siblings and their kids too. Hannah and Jonathan, his brother's children, were like 5 and 7 years old that time, and I still remember speaking academic Deutsch to them as they replied back in a southern German dialect. My friend tells me that they are both adults now, and that they asked of me just recently.

A flush of warm blood from heart to my soul..

Good people and great relationships do remain at the core of our being, and they come alive via a phone call, an encounter on the streets, a Facebook message, or any form of reconnection. One remembers the laughter, the smiles, and the emotions that were experienced in those great moments in time: it is a pure form of wellness and medicine to body, mind and spirit. It feels good to re-member good friends. It feels like home, and I always want to come back and revisit.

As I approach the age of 40 in a month, I realize that this is what I want to invest into- great loving relationships with good warm hearted people. It is something that will never be taken away from us, it will sustain us from now into old age, into death, into forevermore. Everything passes by, our physical bodies expire, but our hearts and souls will always keep the happy experiences we have had while we were still alive.

What are you living for? What do you hope to achieve and gain from this temporary, passing, and limited existence?

I am grateful to realize that Life doesn't really have any expectations of us, save the pursuit of happiness and living and loving ourselves for who we really are. The rat race to fame and fortune is optional. It is ruthless, pressure-filled, potentially rewarded with lots of money, BUT EMPTY AND LONELY. It's simply the guinea pig inside a cage running around chasing after nothing.

I can't help but smile and feel great as I remember all my good memories with good people in the last four decades of my life. All I know for sure is that I want to fill the next four decades with more quality and loving relationships, endless laughter, and the strong bond of human connection with people that were destined to be called my True Friends.

My memory of Hannah as a child was that of a shy but very sweet girl, and Jonathan as a cheerful and friendly boy. It still feels that way after hearing them remember me from my conversation online with their Uncle.

I should go visit those great people down South Germany.