zeitgeist

I love language. I love new (to me) words. Recently, Heather Cox Richardson (HCR) used a word, zeitgeist and indicated that it explained the phenomenon of when one notices something and then suddenly they find it everywhere. I can’t even remember what she was talking about at the time, but it made me think of my last post The Last Last. More on that in a minute.

As I sat down to write this post, I thought I should check the spelling of zeitgeist. I spelled it correctly, but when I read the definition, it didn’t really conform to how I was thinking about the word. So I dug a little deeper and googled my definition/understanding of the word and it turns out there’s a whole different term for that phenomenon. That is called the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. And if you need a definition of that…here you go…“I just heard of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon and now I see it everywhere”. Hahaha….

I remember when I was first pregnant, it seemed that everywhere I went there were pregnant women. Or I got a blue car and then I saw SO many blue cars on the road. You have your own examples.

Now back to HCR and zeitgeist. I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember the context of her use of the word. I know it had to do with her sense of the common topics being discussed everywhere she goes. And she’s been all over the country with her book talks. I remember she noticed a common topic everywhere…but I can’t remember what it was and it’s driving me crazy. I do remember she also used the phrase…what’s “out there”…what’s the commonality “out there”…But I also know that it had to do with events and conversations happening in our country which leans into the definition of zeitgeist – the spirit of time, the general trend of thought, feeling, or tastes of a particular time. (Dictionary .com) AND I remember she had a positive sense about this zeitgeist she is currently experiencing as she traverses the country, reads newspapers, blogs, etc. All in all…that’s some positive news to me.

So in my case the Baader-Meinhoff Phenomenon is a better match for my Last Last thinking. I know. You probably thought I’d never get to the point of this post, huh!?

Well, as I wrote that post, I started seeing other writings about the last…One in particular was just a question posted on Threads and I can’t even find the original post. But some responses got me to reflecting on the concept of last a bit more.

I’ll just share a few with you without comment (if I’m able to restrain myself).

I’m going to start with the one that left me a bit blue. It may be true, but it’s not how I like to think about life. hish_mat: Most things are temporary.

Phew. Got that one out of the way.

Now for some other responses to the Threads question about lasts…and I think that there is some zeitgeist in many of the responses. I’ll be curious to hear your thinking.

iamshahmirr: Accepting the concept of ‘last times’ is undeniably painful, but it’s a testament to the beautiful moments we’ve cherished. Embrace each moment with gratitude, for these instances shape our lives, leaving an indelible mark of love and cherished memories.

beloveceo: Remember to cherish the present, express love and gratitude to those you care about and create meaningful memories because, in the grand story of our lives, every moment matters.

briaenyce: I think of the last as memories I get to keep forever.

cjcongdon: The veil of forgetting is a gift. If you knew this was the last time, you’d do things differently, but that is not what you would naturally do. It’s not the last time that counts, it’s the best time. Just do things naturally, with a loving spirit.

bethg004: I try to look at it as honoring the moment, to not be sad it’s over; to keep the moment sacred.

hannah2me28: you enjoy it. you enjoy the first time, and you enjoy the second time, and the 3rd and the 4th. and then you stop thinking about how special that kiss, that hug, that tuck into bed is, and suddenly it’s the 47th time and you’re thinking about how this one thing has happened so many times you’ve lost count. and you enjoy it. you enjoy the fact that you’ve gotten to do something you love so many times you can’t keep track. and perhaps you preemptively grieve the fact there will be a last time

While this is my/our 201st blog post (how can that be???)…it won’t be the last.

Oh..how could I not include some photos???? Here are a few from the last month or two…