Class Reading: C.S. Lewis/topic Sehnsucht
Today in class we discussed the term sehnsucht. Sehnsucht is a German word that literally means "longing" or in a wider sense a kind of "intensely missing". However, Sehnsucht is almost impossible to translate adequately and describes a deep emotional state. Also author C.S. Lewis uses the term Sehnsucht as the "inconsolable longing" in the human heart for "we know not what." When looking at Lewis’s longing and comparing it to my life – started to think if there was anything that gave me even remotely the same intense feeling. I realized that sometimes objects etc will evoke and intense sense of longing in me. Particular smells give me vivid memories of a certain point in my life – but the memories a lot more intense than just a passing thought. This happens most often with elementary school – certain smells will remind me of the smell of the elementary school I went to. The next couple seconds after smelling the scent, I will remember random things from that point, be it playing on the playground or walking in the hallway. These memories compared to just randomly reminiscing with a friend, are far more different and far more “life-like”. So in my own life I feel as though that would be an example of sehnsucht.
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