care > profit

Nostalgia is a tricky subject. Nostalgic sentiments and fads are often problematic––commodified, sold, and weaponized by politicians and influencers promising the return to a utopia that never was. The word is ripe for critique, and rightfully so.

I had the impulse to start this series in response to learning of 'tempusur'. The term was introduced by Amanda Montell (The Age of Magical Overthinking, 2024) in response to John Koenig’s naming of unnamed emotions in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (2021). Tempusur rests under the 'nostalgia' umbrella, referring to the pang of acknowledging that a moment is slipping away in real time. Tempusur occurs as we appreciate the ephemerality of our experience. Tempusur is nostalgia for the present, or however we perceive the 'present' to exist. (The 'present' is a slippery concept.)

Nostalgia for remembered times––to relish in the joy or gawk at the absurdity of an experienced past––can operate as a mode of self-soothing. I have taken to noticing moments when nostalgia creeps in to offer a welcomed escape. I notice when I am nostalgic, I am available for introspective learning. Sharing nostalgia with another provides opportunity to more deeply connect or find common ground.

This series is as much about nostalgias (past and present) as it is simply about the way light touches everyday moments. Light, like time, is fleeting. I am delighted by the playful nature of light as it casts shadows and reflections that may or may not exist in the same way again.