Going home is not necessarily a wonderful experience. It always

Host: The room is quiet, the evening light casting soft shadows on the walls as the outside world settles into a steady rhythm. Inside, there’s a sense of nostalgia hanging in the air, as if a deeper reflection is about to unfold. Jeeny sits at the table, her fingers tracing the edge of a mug, her gaze distant. Jack stands near the window, arms crossed, watching the world below, his expression thoughtful.

Jeeny: (her voice soft, but filled with curiosity) “You ever think about how going back to places from the past doesn’t always bring the comfort we expect? How sometimes, returning home can make us more aware of what’s been lost, and how much time has passed?”

Jack: (glancing over at her, his voice dry, but intrigued) “Returning home? Yeah, it’s funny how you think it will be comforting, but sometimes, it brings up more awareness of how much things have changed. What do you mean exactly?”

Jeeny: (nodding slowly, a small smile forming as she explains) “I was thinking about something W.G. Sebald said: ‘Going home is not necessarily a wonderful experience. It always comes with a sense of loss and makes you so conscious of the inexorable passage of time.’ It got me thinking about how returning to the familiar can bring not just comfort, but also a sense of impermanence—a reminder of what has changed and what’s been left behind.”

Jack: (pauses for a moment, considering her words) “So, he’s saying that going back to where we’ve been before isn’t always as sweet as we imagine? That it comes with an awareness of loss—whether it’s people, places, or even moments we’ve outgrown?”

Jeeny: (smiling more deeply now, her eyes steady as she explains further) “Exactly. When we return to our past, we often expect to find the same sense of comfort and belonging, but what we find instead is a reminder of how much has changed. The people we once knew might not be the same, or the place itself might have transformed. And that’s when we become aware of the passage of time, of how things—and we—are constantly shifting.”

Host: Jeeny’s words settle in the room, a quiet reflection on the fleeting nature of time and how our past can become something unfamiliar when we revisit it. Jack stands still, his gaze softening as he considers the deeper implications of Sebald’s statement. The world outside continues its rhythm, but inside, the conversation feels rooted in something more existential, a meditation on time and loss.

Jack: (his voice quieter now, almost reflective) “I see what you mean. Going back to something familiar often brings up more questions than answers, doesn’t it? Instead of finding comfort, we realize how much has shifted, how much we’ve lost, and how time has changed everything around us.”

Jeeny: (nodding slowly, her voice gentle, but filled with quiet understanding) “Exactly. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing—it’s just the way time works. The key is in accepting that change, embracing the way life moves forward, even as we acknowledge the things that are gone. That sense of loss becomes part of who we are, a part of our growth.”

Jack: (pauses, his expression thoughtful as the idea sinks in) “It’s funny, isn’t it? We think we want to go back, to recapture something, but maybe the real understanding comes from accepting that we can never fully go back. We can only carry forward the memories, and let them be part of what shapes us now.”

Jeeny: (smiling warmly, her eyes soft with recognition) “Exactly. Going home might bring a sense of loss, but it also brings clarity. It reminds us of where we’ve come from, what we’ve experienced, and how we’ve changed. And that’s an important part of the journey.”

Host: The room feels quieter now, the weight of their conversation settling into a deeper understanding of time, change, and memory. Jack looks away from the window, his posture more relaxed, a small realization about the nature of returning home settling in. Jeeny watches him, content in the knowledge that sometimes, the most powerful insights come not from trying to hold on to the past, but from learning to embrace the passage of time and the changes it brings. The world outside continues its steady rhythm, but inside, there’s a shared recognition that returning to the past can bring both loss and growth, and that’s what makes it meaningful.