The Past; a possible connection?

Even though being born in 1994, whenever I hear or even think about specific stories from even further in the past, I can get very emotional and sad; cues and things that literally have had nothing to do with my life have inhibited my sadness, and I feel almost like breaking down. Two things that seem to have totally nothing in common with each other, sometimes make me start to wonder and have an emotional response, which, if I didn't stop it somehow, would go on for as long as I would exist. I wondered for a long time, is the connection there? Or is there instead an unseen force, one which is perhaps greater than any of us, which imposes such emotions upon us? One might never find out, but life can be a genuinely mysterious experience, one which can be connected to other people and experiences emotionally, in ways which are unbelievable.