You can suffer nostalgia in the presence of the beloved if you glimpse a future where the beloved is no more.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Nostalgia can arise from imagining a future where a beloved person is gone.
- In plain terms
- You can miss someone today by imagining them leaving tomorrow.
- What can you take from it?
- Anticipating loss can trigger nostalgia now.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you ever grieve before loss happens?
- How does imagining the future change your present?
Another view
This assumes the future loss is certain or likely.
More from Milan Kundera
How could she feel nostalgia when he was right in front of her? How can you suffer from the absence of a person who is present?
Permalink to quote #44 The eye... the point where a person's identity is concentrated.
Permalink to quote #46 It is always that way: between the moment he meets her again and the moment he recognizes her for the woman he loves, he has some distance to go.
Permalink to quote #43
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