I’ve been told I have an old soul, and it must be true.

I love vintage clothes, antique stores, picnic baskets, vinyl records, and books I can hold in my hands and read. I miss silly things like paper dolls and black and white movies. I miss bedtime stories and rock-n-roll music that was popular before I was even born.

I don’t want to go back in time—what woman would? But I’d love to bring those things I love into a more socially progressive future. I have a vinyl soul in a digital world, and I’m learning how to nurture it.

It would be easy to let a soul like mine smother under the weight of technology. I can embrace certain changes, and I could always pretend to love new, shiny things, rather than things that have fallen out of fashion. However, I’ve been delving deep into my own authenticity, and I don’t want to pretend to be anything but what I am. I love what I love, and it doesn’t take anything away from anyone else because I do.

This is for all the old souls. Here are a few ways to nurture your soul:

1. Listen to records. Branch out beyond music. There are radio shows on vinyl that are positively delightful. I love the suspense shows, and I even enjoy listening to the old advertisements. Simply switching from a Netflix or Hulu night to a night of listening to records could soothe our vintage souls.

2. Enjoy classic movies. When I say classic, I don’t mean the 1980s, or even the 1970s. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I mean old Hollywood glamour. Take it back to the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Watch Cary Grant smolder with Ingrid Bergman in “Notorious” or enjoy Katherine Hepburn’s devil-may-care attitude in “Holiday” or “The Philadelphia Story.” Embrace the passion and nostalgia of Jimmy Stewart’s impassioned speeches in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” or “Harvey.” Or feel the longing and love between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca”—or watch a real-life love story begin between Bogart and Lauren Bacall in “To Have and Have Not.”

3. We can play with paper dolls, or tin soldiers, or whatever it was that once made us happy. We can share those things we loved with our own children too.

4. We can read books we can hold in our hands and skip out on the digital read.

5. We can lie on our backs under a blue sky and look for shapes in clouds. At night, we can lie under the stars and look for constellations or shooting stars.

6. We can make wishes on dandelions when we see them, or keep an eye out for four-leaf clovers.

7. We can pick a bouquet of flowers to brighten up our home or workplace.

8. We can take a picnic in a wicker basket and spread a blanket in the grass. We can savor the delights of a picnic in a scenic spot.

9. We can enjoy an evening of ballroom dancing, either in a class or with a partner or friend. Many cities offer ballroom dancing locations.

We should celebrate what we love.

Sure, to some people, we’re odd or quirky—there will always be people who don’t understand loving something that’s not currently trending.

Fashion is a great example. I was born in the ’80s, and I’ve lived long enough to see fashions cycle back around. In the ’90s, we saw a resurgence of ’70s fashion—and over the last several years, ’80s fashions have come back.

All the old ideas are recycled. Many people embrace them when they come back into fashion, but some of us don’t want to wait for everyone else to realize that the things we love are awesome. We already know that—and because we do know that, we don’t need to stifle our old souls. We don’t need to try to fit them into this season’s opinions.

Instead, we need to look for ways to make them relevant to our lives right now in whatever ways we can. Because what we love and who we are matters. Our vinyl souls do belong in this digital world; there is a place for us. We just have to clear a space in our lives for that place.

 

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Relephant:

“Don’t Call it a Comeback. I’ve Been Here for Years.”

11 Lovely Traditions to Revive.

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Author: Crystal Jackson
Image: Unsplash/Camille Kimberly
Editor: Yoli Ramazzina
Copy Editor: Nicole Cameron
Social Editor: Cat Monkman