Time - as I perceive it - goes by very differently while I'm on Hive than in my fiat reality... It slows down quite considerably, and I'm still not sure if its because I spend so much time learning (but not quite grasping) all that goes on here, or perhaps its because of time spent thinking up new topics for posts, counting days to payout, or is it the socializing that just starts small and then grows into this big buzz... Whatever it is, it augments my perception of time - making days appear longer, which I'm inclined to think is a good thing, even though I'm aware that there are no real minutes or hours gained - just my own mind running on its own blockchaiN8dfGT6iqPI9.
So,
Where do I take it from here?
It's been 7 years since my last 'post' (do we have a better word yet?)
Well, its no biggie, cause I honestly forgot how to write.
In my last post, I was also looking for a word... I was contemplating on the emotions that places evoke... that romantic melancholy that awaits you in an old historic site, that dwells among the mossy ruins in such a natural yet cinematic way, that it summons in you a sudden rush of both existential awe and dread. It's like witnessing time, and the unintended beauty of decay, much akin to Wabi Sabi, but far less intentional - you can't create it - it simply comes to you.
At the time of publishing that post, (in the preapocalyptic year of 2018), I really couldn't ask Google "hey, what do you call that feeling?" so I left with no answer.
But ever since the apocalypse started, I was able to ask ChatGPT to help me find the right word.
I prompted her (using the exact words from my post):
Do you know the following feeling?
What is it called? You visit a place you never been to before, usually an old ruin or an abandoned site, there is nothing particularly stunning about it, but you suddenly feel an intimate connection with this place and the atmosphere surrounding it... As this emotion envelops you, with it comes a surge of existential reflection, melancholy, a sense of peace and the desire to stay in that place... It seems to be something that many people experience, often when they travel abroad, and especially when they visit historical sites... Often times the place where this emotion dwells is secluded and affected by a natural decay, such as a moss-covered weathered stone. Also this feeling can be amplified by a cloudy overcast, that causes the place to appear more solemn but also more alive as the colors become more vivid, and the air smells fresh... It's not just the place, it's also a moment in time, which seems to evoke some sort of deep connection. Given any different time, lighting and company, the place wouldn’t have the same kind of effect... and trying to recreate it might not be that easy...
She replied:
Yes — that feeling is real, and while there isn't one perfect English word that fully captures its depth and complexity, several terms and ideas get close. What you're describing touches on aesthetics, memory, longing, transience, and the sublime. Let’s break it down and look at some words that might help name or frame this emotional experience:
🌿 Closest Words & Concepts:
Saudade (Portuguese)
A deep emotional state of nostalgic or melancholic longing for something or someone absent — often with the understanding that the object of longing might never return.
Though usually tied to people or times, some feel saudade in spaces — especially decayed or historical places that seem to hold echoes of the past.
Sehnsucht (German)
An intense, deep yearning for something indefinite — a “longing for a far-off place,” sometimes not even known.
Fits well with your mention of existential reflection, the urge to stay, the feeling that you're touching something timeless and just out of reach.
Hiraeth (Welsh)
A homesickness for a home you can’t return to, or that maybe never was.
Particularly appropriate if the emotion feels ancestral or tied to some imagined past.
Mono no aware (物の哀れ – Japanese)
The “ahh-ness” of things; the bittersweet awareness of the impermanence of beauty.
Deeply connected to the idea that something is beautiful because it’s fleeting, like the mossy ruin in soft overcast light.
Solastalgia
A more modern word, originally coined to describe the emotional distress caused by environmental change in one’s home environment — but it has evolved.
It can be stretched to describe a longing or melancholy tied to place, especially decaying or changing landscapes.
Ruin Lust / Ruinenlust (aesthetic term) 💗
A fascination or romantic longing for decaying or ruined places, especially those overtaken by nature.
Not an emotion in itself, but it often triggers the kinds of feelings you're describing.
🌀 Other Concepts That Might Resonate:
Anemoia (coined in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows) – nostalgia for a time you've never known.
Liminal space – places that feel like thresholds, between past and present, real and surreal; often emotionally charged and hard to articulate.
Yes friends, the apocalypse is here; she's incredibly generous and very polite, though a total bitch for giving me the best word last.
So, of course, its got to be Ruinenlust - It sums up the aesthetic, psychological and spiritual moment many travelers and artists quietly treasure, but struggle to explain. It truly completes my quest as I journey through the apocalyptic landscape with such a beautifully sounding word.
And just like that -- the lighting changed, feelings faded, and the moment is gone.
The end.
(of time)
Is the name of a Portuguese tart shop here in my home town of Adelaide, South Australia. They comment on the same definition of the word.
Portuguese tarts are the ONLY thing that they sell. They sell one thing. Only that one thing. They're bloody good at making them.
Meanwhile, the feeling you describe is one that I had when I travelled to Europe for the first time, and roamed the streets of Florence and Rome, and parts of Paris. There seemed to be a heavier atmosphere. More presence. More... thichkness in the history of the place. Not in the history of the the fact that more books have been published about the people who were in those places in the times before, but in the grooves of the streets, and in the very air that I inhaled.
I still find it hard to describe that feeling and that atmosphere. I don't know if any of the words presented here quite hit the nail on the head of that feeling, because those places were certainly not in ruins (though, it could be argued that at times in history they were.)
So I wonder, if we take someone with no historical context of the great cities and mundane laneways that most of the west venerates, would we get the same reaction, the same feeling, if we plucked an oprhan from New Zealand and took them there? Or someone from the jungles of Papua?
I have no idea, but I want to always know if anyone else felt the same way, without the context of history influencing the "atmosphere" of a place.
I was literally entering the comments section in order to offer up the word, "saudade". What a delight. It's so beautiful to learn these words from various languages that can convert the complexities of human experiencing. There is no word in English that can encompass the meaning of "saudade". It is a linguistic treasure for me. I feel similarly about the word "madrugada," and particularly to have learned that I am a "madrugadora." How lovely and fulfilling it is to share these things across cultures also.
I think the concept of mourning comes close to saudade, but it depends on the nature of that mourning. Too many qualifiers. Perhaps there really isn't a word in English.
This is a word I had to do some research on! :) I'd never heard it. I think the closest words for it in English may be "The Witching Hours" - but that time before dawn "blue hour(s)" (In photography) - is a time that I really only experience when starting out on a long road trip, which is a rare thing for me.
They're magical, unless you're driving into the sunrise, then it becomes frustrating :P
On an unrelated note, in terms of "favourite words" - I've always like mayhap, the in between of perhaps and maybe. It sits playful, between prophecy and causality. I also like the word vulnerable, the way it comes off the tongue, the mouth shape, it feels fragile to say.
I like words. A lot!
Whooo I love the word 'Madrugada'! 🌙
I mean, all vampires do!
And yes 'The Witching Hours' is very close to its meaning... so lovely to have people to share my logophilia with.
There is also a Norwegian rock/dark-blues band called "Madrugada" and they are actually quite great to listen for that pensive creative mood.
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You know, I think you're right - it doesn't have to be a ruin, but it has to be a place deeply historical place that carries marks of time and a kind of architectural language that allows an intimate play of light... in addition to that, you have to be in a certain mind-set to even perceive this moment - it is likely to happen when you're a traveler, when your whole existence is primed to channel emotions of awe and lament.
Is historical contest necessary? Ufff! that's a big thought!
I wonder if a place can have an innate essence that transcends cultural and historical context... maybe there are places that just pull at the threads of our basic humanity... or maybe not. Maybe the vault of references in our brain prevents us from seeing things without preconsived ideas of what a sacred place should look like...
We really got to kindnap a a few tribesmen from different parts of the world to test this hypothesis (for science!)
Interesting you mentioned Europe and Rome in particular, because my similar experiences happened on a trip in Turkey, in a Roman city Ephesus, which you can technically call ruins cause it was literally forgotten and then later found and restored. Though it happened many times in historical places that were not in ruins.
And thank you for reading my musings! 🌿
I hope to read more of them in the future! Quality engagement and great food for thought. Delicious brain food!
This also brings to mind the meaning of the Sanskrit word, "Ras," which could be said to mean, "essence," "plasma," "flavor," or even "experience." And the meaning that somebody..I do not recall who.. Introduced to me many years ago in the context of being a "tantrika," that is they taught to me that I am also a "rastrika," or one who intentionally drinks in the essence of life through experiences and feelings such as what you described. I've come to understand that to be the main practice of Tantra in fact... To notice and magnify, draw out and take in every drop of joy and pleasure from life experiences... From watching the dust motes dancing and shining in a sunbeam, to the gleam of an insect's wings, to the mysterious power of a place such as this... Then of course our task is to shine back out as well, into the world and be (in) a flow of giving and receiving.
This feels like a childhood joy, a fascination for the small details.
I do the same thing, but in the light that filters in through the bedroom curtains in the morning, casting shadows on the wall. The texture left behind by the paint application device (probably a roller) - and the thin layer of normally imperceptible dust clinging to the wall.
Then I think about the fact that the shadow, the light that dances there as the curtains shimmer in the breeze is only due to the sun blazing away an astronomical unit in the distance, passing through the emptiness, into our atmosphere, through the window, through the curtain, and onto the wall.
It's a quiet meditation, and it reminds me of my own insignificance, but in a positive way - because I am able to observe this small, private section of the universe for a short time, and find joy in it.
I love seeing the evolution of our thoughts on this thread.
Wow! Rastrika, what a pretty word in itself! And the philosophy behind it deserves a deeper dive. What you're describing makes me think about what artists and naturalists chase in their work, to connect with sacred form from the universe (however big or small) and channel it back through what ever means of communication or creativity possible.
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