On Longing

On Longing

 

1. The body is the primary mode for perceiving scale.

 

 

This statement could capture the tendency of humans to view themselves as being the center of the universe. People often think first of themselves, second of the things that surround them. This tendency would lead someone to size up objects against themselves.

 

2. Capacity of objects to serve as traces of authentic experience.

 

 

I definitely believe that objects are capable of serving as traces of authentic experience. Sometimes these objects can be unexpected; seemingly insignificant pieces of your past can become very important. Personally, I feel like foods and smells are often what become representative of an experience for me. Though these ma not always be concrete objects, they still strongly correlate to important personal memories.

 

3. The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the three dimensional into the miniature that can be enveloped by the body.

 

 

A souvenir reduces the gradure of an event, place, or experience down to a personal possession which one can hold. I believe it is naturally formed souvenirs which become most valuable, not those purchased to represent a time or place. Personally, I have one particular jacket that was bought for me before a surf trip. This was the only piece of clothing that I felt comfortable wearing on a trip from that time after. That one jacket became representative of my ability to travel to new areas of the world and grow as a person.

 

4. Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss.

 

 

You truly cannot miss something until it's gone. When one loses something of value, one will usually begin to value that object even more. Nostalgia thrives upon the sensation of possessing a love of what once was, not of what is.

 

5. To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess both a specimen and a trophy.

 

 

I personally have not really had a souvenir of the exotic. I supposed that this type of memento could be particularly valuable, but I don't know if it is right to refer to these souvenirs as trophies. I don't believe that objects should be treated as rewards or trophies, but rather as simple possession in and of themselves.