Nostalgia in Christmas times.

Hi folks, hope you're spending a good time in these holidays!
And specially, I hope this subject I'm about to talk doesn't reach you this year, And in the case it does it does, I hope you read this article, and it can help you kick the bad feeling out.  :)

What I'm talking about?Ah it's a feeling of sadness or/and frustration that apprears in these times in many people's hearts. Some people like to call it call "Christmas nostalgia" or "Christmas melancholy", but I've decided to call "The end of the year Nostalgia" cos it's more specific and  I think it fits more, since this feeling doesn't have to do with Christmas, but as I've realized, it's actually caused by some other reasons.

It happens because...

When I was younger, I've heard some scientist talk about it, that many people feel melancholy or nostalgia for the past times. It was something strange and distant for me for many time, but this December....I'm feeling I'm probably one of these people, and it got me in less extend...not too hard but it is still there. So I think now I am capable to talk about it, and maybe if I'm lucky, to try and find a solution for it.

Cos tech insolates people sometimes.

Now I think about it...I believe I discovered why people sometimes get this feeling; it's in part because many people of today use technology to insolate from the others than to get close! 

Playing with their cellphones and computers when having the other members of their family near them, It's what we in mexico call "being zombies".And the few ones left who aren't slaves of the tech and use it well, still wanna have some nice and fun moments with their families so they feel a bit lonely.

I'm one of those who are included on this reason. Sometimes, I wish someday somehow the internet and tv would stop functioning for a day, so families could re-discover themselves and what's to be together and hang out together. How fun it is to sing along, to play a board game, to read a book in family or talking about what have happened in the year.

Because things change, and sometimes not for better.

How fun would be to sing along, to play a board game, to read a book in family or talking about what have happened in the year. How fun it would be to go to the park with my family in bike, or to go to the beach to make a pic-nic, just like me and my family used to do on Saturday or Sunday in the 90's! How amazing it would be to turn on the tv in the afternoon and watch all my favorite series, the ones I used to watch and love when I was a kid and a teen!!
But as one o my teachers said, young people on today are lazy and the "interests" and tastes change while the people grow up, so my siblings no longer like to go to the beach or park, they prefer to stay all the day on the computer playing videogames or watching tv.
And a looooot of other things! There's lots of things my family and me used to do together and I loved, that I no longer do since years ago. Cos usually the things do change with time...and usually it's not for better.

Because you feel you're older and you've achieved nothing.

But I think the other reason why most of people get this melancholy in the end of the year, it's because, like me, most of people feel that the majority of the things they planned to do this year that it's ending, didn't become a reality, for this or that other reason. 

In the case of some people, they get this feeling cos they are a year older and haven't got a place to live or a car,  to find love or doing excercise to loss weight or some other things,

For example in my case the end of this year means mainly;

that I'm getting old and I haven't found a true love yet. No comic finished, not even a short comic strip! No book finished (or even started a good amount of it!) and just another year of "swiming against the current of the river"; of hearing people where I live saying that artwork must only be a hobbie that you would care about, and "nobody else will like other than you", that's something trivial and silly and you wouldn't never earn a life with it. 

And to make things worse, I come back to my town from my time in College, I come back home just to find out that most of my drawings are now in the trash, or they are ruined because of the rain of the past months, just because nobody ever took care of saving them and storing them safely when I was in the  school. 

My mom and day say "it's not a big problem you still have your hands you can make more" "you can make more", and my sister says that "Only the autor should care about their art". 

Yeah right!...true this merits more than just a roll of eyes. It's all nonesense! no matter of what side you try see these ideas. It seems they think that when you make a piece of art, you're a printer machine that can re-make exactly the same thing over and over. That art is not something that comes from your soul and express your emotions, your thoughts your fears your dreams, your perspective of the people and the world arround you....your soul! 

And to add water to my storm, that it's already bad, I've been feeling that the characters and stories I've been developing with effort and dedication all this year are stuck, for a reason I don't know.

Yeah stuck! And when this happens I start to think it might be because a lack of imagination or creativity. Even if later I realize it's not true actually, sometimes it feels so.

From time to time I feel nostalgia because when I was younger, specifically when I was a little kid, it was a lot easier for me to make characters and stories...and I didn't know why that hability of dreaming...kinda faded a bit with time...

And all the time, I feel like a rock being battered by waves; with every time people try to break my spirit and change my opinion about art being an important part for human kind, a bit of myself erodes...and the dreams I still have but haven't become true, still persuit me and make me feel frustated every end of the year!

But there's some cure!

Why yes, I've found some cure for this feeling!

Accept the things that changed, by thinking of the positive.

Accepting things are changing requires a lot of courage, but it's a lot easier when you struggle to see "the big picture". So I recommend to try to think on the positive things that your actual situation has, for example in my case; 

I realize that since a long time we don't go together to the park because anybody has interest on it, but now I can use this time for myself; to make me a pedicure, to draw or paint, or to go walk by myself and have a time to relax and feel the breeze on my eyes, without being worry of getting back home to an specific schedule cos my parents needed to come back to work, or my siblings needed to come back home to do homework, or stuff like that. Also now I wouldn't be able to go to the park or beach anyways, cos I have homework to do and also the work from the office.

And other example, referring to the shows or movies I used to watch when I was a kid and were cancelled some time ago; of course, I'll miss them, but in nowadays you can get a couple of good cartoon series of the 90's in forums or pages of cartoon shows, and I'll keep looking until I find mine. For example, I've found last year the movie "once Upon a Forest" in mexican dubbing, a movie I've been looking for years and I thought it was impossible to find. So nothing is impossible, just keep looking folks! :)

I know there's not much consuel on this at first, because you inevitably will always miss the times when you were a kid from time to time, cos we humans tend to remember and have nostalgia about times we spent the betters moments. 

But if you think about it, the times being an adult, you can enjoy different things, like what I mentioned. Also, it's not a sad thing to be alone sometimes. Sometimes it's good to have some time alone to relax, to know yourself better, also to be creative and make art.

Traditions help people to stay together.

As a dear friend of mine said, traditions help people to stay together!

The other day had the opportunity to talk with my dear friend and mentor, and I talked a bit about this, about this nostalgic feeling for old Christmas, the one I'm referring here. And she mentioned that in his family, the traditions they do on Christmas time have helped them to stay together.  I told her that in my case, that was true as well, and then, as I was saying that, I thought "Eureka!!"

Thanks to my friend I reminded that this is the most important part of how to help your family to keep being together.

What I'm referring to with traditions? For example, in my family we have a very beautiful and warm tradition for Christmas Eve. Some weeks beforeChristmas eve we plan what we are going to have for dinner, we talk about what we would like and we decide together. And some days before Chrismas eve we go together (all the family, yes! ) to the market and we buy the ingredients. Later, at that day on the daylight, we cook the dinner together. 

We usually spend all the day cooking, and since we were kids, my mom and dad inspired us to participate on this tradition, even if we did small tasks when we were kids. And then it gets meaning when it's the dinner time and we eat, because we all are proud and happy to know everybody have participated on cooking what we are eating! And  such a heartwarming moment! A moment that even today, I still adore! I think that's why I love Christmas so much hehehe.

 Realize and appreciate what you were able to do this year.

 I think this one point doesn't need much explanation...does it? Sometimes you do it on the New Year celebration; you sit with your family and everybody talk about the goals you have achieved this, or some cool thing that happened to you or that you have done, and that made you happy.
Well, I think is very good idea to do this on Christmas as well. Because that's how you appreciate what you have! Also, is good idea to give feedback to your family if they have acomplished some of their goals, at that way you will feel happy and cozy inside, and all that hepls the feeling of nostalgia go away as well.

Heheh, well, c'est parti mon kiki! That's all for now folks, I hope you have enjoy this article and that if you feel the "Christmas nostalgia", that goes away like it happened with me when I found out this solution!