Human existence is one of loneliness. We are forever surrounded by people--people who love us, people who hate us, or people who are just indifferent. Yet, at the end of the day, we are alone. By that, I don't mean being left alone, deserted to the cruel clutches of fate or anything so dramatic. I just mean that no matter how many people are around us, we are isolated in ourselves--limited by the body to never experience what anyone else has experience in quite the same way; and limited by our minds to never think exactly as anyone else thinks. We exist in a bubble that will only admit one body, one mind and one soul (if you believe in souls, that is!) and nothing can really penetrate this bubble.
In fact, I think that the whole of human society is built around this. Man wants to escape this sense of loneliness and one way to do so is to surround himself with other humans who again exist in bubbles. The same goes with the whole concept of love, marriage, commitment, etc. People just need to feel that there's someone who can remove them from that bubble and give them company. And so the whole concept of love and relationships of any kind becomes so important.
So everytime this feeling of oneness is threatened, man reacts in the most violent and primitive way possible. That's why religion and patriotism are such touchy subjects and turns ever the most rational minds absolutely unreasonable. The circle of humanity surrounding them--either in the form of people of the same religion or of the same country--is being threatened. And this circle is very important to keep away the sense of loneliness. So obviously, a primal fear triggers a primitive reaction.
This also explains the abundance of conflict in any society. Every human is isolated and no matter how sympathetic a person can be, no one can really escape the confines of their bubble and enter another person's bubble. So no one truly understands what anyone else is going through. And so people start quarreling.
At the end of the day, the undeniable fact remains that we are alone in everything we do. Does this seem to pessimistic and cynical? Well, I am pessimistic and cynical. Or maybe you just can't see what I see from your bubble!
31 comments:
hey gal we all are alone some way or the other..u can feel like an island in a sea of ppl..its a matter of time wen we realize we exist on our own..but hey guess wat m not leaving u alone ha ha ha..ur doomed to my awful company like i said gimme a couple of centuries i'll think bout leaving..psst..i said think its not an ultimatum.
pursuing relationships just to escape loneliness? what about the sex? thats MY main reason anyway... not that i get it, but...
however, makes sense.. someone i was talking to was saying that marriage is often a solution to the loneliness issue - you dont want to grow old alone. but the thing is, you can feel really lonely married even, or so this someone was telling me.. shit i cant remember who.
Thing is, we cant escape loneliness. Like you said-- we lay alone in our own thoughts. We cant intepret all these thoughts, no sir. therefore- like you said- its our own bubble. absolutely true.
you must've thought loads to come up with that post.. thought provoking!
hey rini. oh goodness me. i don't know what to say. maybe i'll curse my fate? hehe, thanks, VERY reassuring comment!
Well, that's a way of looking at it, abhinav. The sex benefit, I mean. I'm not authorised to comment on that though! :P
Thanks, vbk. And taking it to another level, i wonder if even WE understand ourselves!
whoa...
nice post jan,totally agree with you...never thought of lookin at people being inside a bubble...it's so true...it's also kool to picture two bubbles merging when a relationship is formed...ok,me gettin carried away with the whole idea of 'bubbles';-)good one!
hmm...uh...ah... well, i dont hav any useful comment to make... i guess i cant think inside my bubble...ahk help! i'm suffocating!
what abt multiple personality disorder?
Hey posh... LOL, merging bubbles? The eternal optimist I see! :P (Man, I love being pessimistic and getting other people down!)
See, this is what happens when one thinks too much, quicksand! The bubble doesn't like it at all! Not one bit. You might want to take an oxygen tank with you next time you want to think!
MPD, anticpix is many bubbles inside on bubble. And when the main one goes pop!... The rest go pop! too. :-/
i was on a major 'world full of lone bubbles' trip.. there seems no one absolute way to look at anything.. while we are always in bubbles, more than being unable to look beyond, we seem more unwilling. even on days-like yesterday- when all the atoms of the universe seem completely unsynchronised and moving in jarring vibes there seems to suddenly dawn some kind of harmony... relief.. someone, something, or the whole world itself seems clear and the bubble seems diffused... its neither this nor that, but it is this and that .. this depends on that and that on this... i used to have a friend who kept saying after every series of items, "this that and everything".. quite on the dot... but then again, the dot is is always running away from the cursor like tose trick sites..
p.s. if u havent already, try get hold of "i heart huckabees" by a certain david o russel ... an 'existential comedy' it is.. explores the whole 'i am a rock' vs. 'all u need is love' conflict/paradigm.. if i may call it that..
eternal flunky, after reading your first comment around 5 times, my really slow brain got what you're saying. And yeah, I agree. There are no absolutes, it seems. Even the bubble is not an absolute I guess!
And no, I havent yet read that, but will definitely do so now. Thanks for the recommendation!
Given the length of most of the comments here, I'm guessing everything worth saying's already been said (having the attention span of a hummingbird: no, I haven't read the previous comments...), so I'll just drop off two quick recommendations:
(a) Bubble Boy (children's book/stupid-yet-funny movie about boy stuck in bubble)
(B) The Graduate (absolutely hilarious book/movie on simiar theme)
i had least read a post so good that made me feel to read your post not less than 3 times to grasp the real meaning you mentioned. I felt of reading a book of paulo's
Um... paulo coehlo, known stranger? Well, i'll take that as a compliment, though i'm not a big fan of his! And thanks for dropping in!
Oh and thanks for the recommendations, eyefry.. Hmmmm! Bubbles! Interesting :D
its a movie not a book.. guess im a tough bubble to burst.. damn
Lol. Well thing about me is that no one ever recommends anything but books to me so I always assume anything mentioned here is a book!
your hangman thing is over addictive! haaalp!
Mwahahaha! The hangman thing was part of my plan to take over the world... It's worrrrrrkiiiiing!
>:D
have pity!! spare!! hang me instead!! internet bill shooting up!!
Hanging you would kind of defeat the purpose! So, no, sorry! Death is too easy a solution.
As for the internet bills. Hehe. Bankruptsy is only the first step in the master plan. Glad to see that's working too!
tyrant!!
-
-
-
-
-
- -_
-
-
hey i want to ask you somn.... wel.. when u have the world..... will u give me charge of italy?
Italy? With all the pizza?! Ha! Dream on.
Wellll... since you comment on my blog n all... I'll think about it.
But China is free if you want! :D
the chinese are everywhere!!!!!!
muaaaaaaaahahahaha!!!
maaaaiinnn!!!!!!!!
Well, I'll still have Kerala! Beat that! MWAHAHAHAHA!
no fair no fair!!!!!
down with the tyrant emperess!!
but while yer still up, take care o me grandparents willya, i'l take care of ur chinese ones (:p)
me's grandma makes mango juice that'd make u go " my kingdom for flunky's granny's mango juice!"
Well you have me cornered then. Am a sucker for mango juice!
I don't think you'd enjoy my chinese grandmother's speciality--SQUID!
i'd rather let mrs calamari be..
--
l D
0
.....
???
Cats?
i may be vague, but i do have intend ideas
-- (calamari eyes)
l (nose)
D (ear)
O (mouth)
and "old" cos there is so much talk of grand parents..
Ah. Now it's all clear. I wasn't familiar with the emoticons...
Post a Comment