Justcol

My son sent me this. I think many of us, no matter how settled we are can relate to it. I just thought I'd share it.

scot47

Life in exile is not easy.

BEVS

True

Pom_Chch

Whilst I can resonate to some degree, we're hardly in exile. Most of us made a conscious decision to explore a new life abroad and can return to our home land should we choose...

Verdant

I agree Pom_Chch. Most people who emigrate have that void (longing) for something else when they embark on the move. That same sense of longing, which is often an underlying general dissatisfaction with life then shifts to what you've left behind once you arrive. For some it's less prounouced while for others it will eventually cause them to return "home", only to find that the "home" is not exactly how they left it and neither are they. Discombulated. I think the distance and time difference makes this much more pronounced than other places in the world but ultimately we're lucky to have the freedom to make such choices, even if at times it can feel like a self-constructed prison.

That being said, it's definitely an impressive piece of art.

BEVS

Perhaps reading the MBTTUK forum will show how hard it can be to make a return and also how easily some settle once returned.

Charismatic

Did you know the word nostalgia derives from two Greek words? Nostos meaning "to return home" and algos meaning "pain."

Humans we love to belong, know our place, feel safe and such. Unfortunately that is also deeply unfulfilling, blame the restless feet of our ancestors or the siren song of the open road but we seem destined to move onwards, even if we look back fondly upon the the past although it predated a discontinuity in our lives. That past was never static, your life would have changed, the future wasn't certain despite how it might feel projected in retrospect. So when people try to return they are often disappointed because they are seeking a past that never really existed.

Nostalgia, the pain of returning home.