by Tejas on Tuesday, 25 September 2012
People, sometimes or maybe quite often for some, find themselves in a state when they feel they are alone. Some take it as a part of life while some find it hard to get by with it. But no matter how different individuals deal with it, I feel that it is something that we all encounter and something which is very much inevitable. And like all other people I do have my share of what I would call “my moment with myself”.
My time spent in Ahmedabad is what I would describe as my first longest experience of being alone. And by being alone I don’t mean the literal meaning of the word alone only that you find in the dictionary. When I say one is alone, it’s more of the mental and spiritual state of solitude, when one meets one’s true self, and also of the physical state as well, which is the very factor that affects the previous. While I was there i had a lot of time to myself and that gave me ample time to think, to contemplate. Initially, I did feel bored (I still do sometimes) and homesick, missing my family and friends, things that are commonly associated with loneliness. Straight out of school, very young and venturing into the adult world for the first time that was bound to happen. Anyway, I came through it, met some new people, learnt how to fend for myself and to be responsible, but most importantly I learnt how to survive and sustain on my own.
So what keeps me going when I’m alone,..... well good memories and music, yes music and other things as well. When I’m alone, I just put on some good music and then I just reminisce on the good memories. And when I do that I’m all smiles and trust me it does helps a lot to get by. Nowadays, with the advances of technology one is rarely alone, it is very easy to stay connected with your family and friends. Family, friends and society are a very vital ingredient of one’s life, they bring meaning and colour to our existence. And I feel one should be alone for some time in order to be able to miss them so that they understand their importance and cherish their company.
Living in a society makes us feel safe and connected and we also feel great being a part of it. But for some, it’s society alone that drives them the need to isolate themselves from it. For these peoples isolating themselves from society and being alone is an escape from the social conventions of society, hypocrisy, pretensions, duplicity and whatever else they think they can’t accept or relate to. They have this urge to be alone, because, when one is alone they don’t have to pretend, they don’t have to wear the masks and smiles that society compels them to. Simply putting, they don’t have to be the person that society demands them to be but can be who they really are. I’m sure you’ll agree with this if you have seen the motion picture “Into The wild”. Funny but one can feel very alone even when there are people all around them. When one cannot connect and relate to the people around him, it’s easy to feel very alone.
For me, the times when I’m alone, in a way if not all, has been some sort of an experience. I have done some good, some useless and some very crazy things when I am alone. But apart from all this, what I really like about me being alone is that it gives me time to think and the heart that enables me to cherish the company of my family and friends, confidence to find and understand the true me and the space to be who I really am. Because I believe that one is the true self when one is alone, when no one is looking.
“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone”.
Arthur Schopenhauer
(P.S: Having said all of these doesn't mean i prefer being alone all the time, no, not at all).
People, sometimes or maybe quite often for some, find themselves in a state when they feel they are alone. Some take it as a part of life while some find it hard to get by with it. But no matter how different individuals deal with it, I feel that it is something that we all encounter and something which is very much inevitable. And like all other people I do have my share of what I would call “my moment with myself”.
My time spent in Ahmedabad is what I would describe as my first longest experience of being alone. And by being alone I don’t mean the literal meaning of the word alone only that you find in the dictionary. When I say one is alone, it’s more of the mental and spiritual state of solitude, when one meets one’s true self, and also of the physical state as well, which is the very factor that affects the previous. While I was there i had a lot of time to myself and that gave me ample time to think, to contemplate. Initially, I did feel bored (I still do sometimes) and homesick, missing my family and friends, things that are commonly associated with loneliness. Straight out of school, very young and venturing into the adult world for the first time that was bound to happen. Anyway, I came through it, met some new people, learnt how to fend for myself and to be responsible, but most importantly I learnt how to survive and sustain on my own.
So what keeps me going when I’m alone,..... well good memories and music, yes music and other things as well. When I’m alone, I just put on some good music and then I just reminisce on the good memories. And when I do that I’m all smiles and trust me it does helps a lot to get by. Nowadays, with the advances of technology one is rarely alone, it is very easy to stay connected with your family and friends. Family, friends and society are a very vital ingredient of one’s life, they bring meaning and colour to our existence. And I feel one should be alone for some time in order to be able to miss them so that they understand their importance and cherish their company.
Living in a society makes us feel safe and connected and we also feel great being a part of it. But for some, it’s society alone that drives them the need to isolate themselves from it. For these peoples isolating themselves from society and being alone is an escape from the social conventions of society, hypocrisy, pretensions, duplicity and whatever else they think they can’t accept or relate to. They have this urge to be alone, because, when one is alone they don’t have to pretend, they don’t have to wear the masks and smiles that society compels them to. Simply putting, they don’t have to be the person that society demands them to be but can be who they really are. I’m sure you’ll agree with this if you have seen the motion picture “Into The wild”. Funny but one can feel very alone even when there are people all around them. When one cannot connect and relate to the people around him, it’s easy to feel very alone.
For me, the times when I’m alone, in a way if not all, has been some sort of an experience. I have done some good, some useless and some very crazy things when I am alone. But apart from all this, what I really like about me being alone is that it gives me time to think and the heart that enables me to cherish the company of my family and friends, confidence to find and understand the true me and the space to be who I really am. Because I believe that one is the true self when one is alone, when no one is looking.
“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone”.
Arthur Schopenhauer
(P.S: Having said all of these doesn't mean i prefer being alone all the time, no, not at all).
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