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We’d walked over the dunes behind my house, and onto the quiet, mostly-private beach that lined Chesapeake Bay and that shielded us from the occasional storm. As usual, there was a cool and thick fog that gently blew across my face. It limited our vision in a way that was oddly relaxing. There was no sound, except for a subtle splashing of water. The natural aesthetic was unrivaled, and felt like we were walking inside in a desktop screensaver.
“No, I do this walk all the time,” I reassured her. Then she extended her hand out with a smile and said, “OK, good, I can still see my hand.” We were having a blast. This beach was always so relaxing, and both of us were stressing about school too much. Feeling the sand on our bare feet, and enjoying the calming fog was working wonders.
Years later, I walked these same foggy beaches after a back injury, feeling down on myself, wondering why my recovery was taking so long, and why I’d been targeted by the universe with this malady. These beaches healed my thoughts and took my mind to happier places.
Even today, decades later, I get a wave of nostalgia anytime I see fog. I don’t get much of it here in Florida, but when I do, typically in the morning, you’ll find me on my couch, looking out the window and getting wistful about bygone days.
Psychologists classify nostalgia as a social emotion, that is self-conscious and bittersweet, but mostly positive. It often stems from a yearning for the past and old relationships. Nostalgia is often triggered by the senses. For example, anytime I smell chlorine, I get nostalgic for my summer spent playing in pools while visiting my grandparents inFlorida. I remember all the fun friendships and trouble we got into, and lounging in friends’ homes playing video games.
One study by Dr. Wijnand at King’s College London found that bad weather can trigger nostalgia, which is true in my case — though I now consider fog good weather because of what it does for me. Bad weather tends to cause more stress which drives more nostalgic thoughts as a coping mechanism. We often do it without even realizing it.
