The word "nostalgia" in Greek can be translated as "pain."

Its why we feel a twinge over love lost, sins committed, opportunities missed, and even happy days that will never return:

A right thinking man desires to turn back the clock.

It is a preternatural concept:

We realize at some level that we can never go back, and on the other hand, that there is a desire for the simpler times of yore; a time when things were "right," so to speak.

Of course, this is subconscious remorse for original sin, and therefore an equally subconscious knowledge that we have committed a terrible offense which cannot be made right, because time heads in the other direction.

Tonight, it so happened that I heard some songs from the "GREASE" soundtrack (a filthy, putrid movie in every respect, but whose songs captivate because of their baseness).

I reflected back to my childhood when these songs were popular, and I liked them.

But nostalgia served its purpose: The trained intellect gradually regained superiority over the emotional impulses, and the Dies Irae regained its supremacy.

But I fell sorry for all those without the trained intellect, who will succuмb to the siren of GREASE (or other like productions), and they will number in the billions.  They will be drawn to revel in the realm of the emotions.

One can see how the liberals are stuck in that realm of emotion and feeling, but God is always giving them an out.

In the modern world the battle transcends mere musical impulses to revel in feeling and emotion, but not many escape all the snares: Social pressures, music and entertainments, etc.

But God gave us nostalgia to make us rethink

He gave us a tear for the past at the natural level to make us consider the supernatural level as well.

Life is hard.

If it was easy, nostalgia might not have the desired effect.

I miss the past.

The love of the past made me traditional.

I thank God for my grandparents, and the love of them which made me love the past.

But 3 of 4 are now dead, and the last is almost completely delusional.

I miss them.

But had it not been for time spent with them, I would not have been predisposed to love the "old days."

The pain which I feel from their loss increases instead if decreases.

But I see God's providence in that:

It will keep me traditional, spurning the modern world and GREASE, and cling to the faith.

Nostalgia/pain, rightly considered, is a beneficial thing.

The word "nostalgia" in Greek can be translated as "pain."

νόστος means more like a "homecoming"