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Sentimentality is such an evocative feeling and yet, I don’t think we truly experience it until we grow older. As children, we often lack the empathy to really appreciate memories and belongings – we may miss our favourite forgotten toy but it rarely goes deeper than a few tears before we become attached to another newer version.
As we grow up, I feel that sentiment and nostalgia often go hand in hand. I have always been a very nostalgic person, I find myself dreaming of days and years gone by, even if I’m more than content with the present. I remember particular moments or words that were said and feelings that were felt as if they were only heard, or indeed felt, yesterday.
People often say that scents have the ability to evoke feelings too; the perfume you wore on your wedding day, the smell of your childhood home or even the aroma of a certain flower, can remind us of long unforgettable summer evenings spent with loved ones or saying goodbye to others we’ve lost.
In preparation for spring and the warmer summer months ahead, I’ve been having a big wardrobe clear out. Popping back home to my parents—and my old home—I tackled the built in wardrobe that I’ve used for the last 25 years. While I’ve had many a clear out in that time, I still find it difficult to really give anything away. Even going through items I’m certain I will never wear again, I think of the memories which are so closely attached to them and think, ‘Maybe, just maybe, I will wear that again…one day,’ but of course, I probably never will. I try to stick to the advice: ‘if you haven’t worn it in a year then you’re not going to’, but sentiment always seems to step in.
There are some who can discard their memories and possessions—good or bad—without a second thought. You could argue that those we truly cherish will always be with us, in some form, and those we don’t, should simply be forgotten anyway.
So, whether you’re a proud minimalist or a self-confessed hoarder, I hope that you look back at your many, or few possessions and smile because after all, they are a perfect timeline of the life you’ve lived and loved.
