Living in Isolation
written by: Benjamin Nambu
I have noticed when people live alone, in isolation, they can sometimes develop ugly habits and attitudes they find perfectly normal. Living in isolation may not necessarily mean living alone in some faraway mountain, meditating on the true essence of life. It could be an individual who interacts with people daily but has shielded many aspects of themselves and happenings in their lives from close friends and relatives.
There is no sin in keeping one’s life private. However, life is about balance. Every individual needs a certain amount of sunshine for healthy growth. A healthy dose of harsh criticism of one’s lifestyle is very good for one’s immune system. And it comes from socializing and being open to hearing opinions of others about oneself that might not always be constructive.
The longer some people live alone, the healthier they find their madness. And this madness may start developing from what seems like harmless acts—eating noisily, not paying attention to one’s appearance, messy room, unhealthy sleeping patterns, snoring loudly when asleep or unhygienic catering standards that are cool so long as the cook is the sole consumer.
Nobody has finished growing. We all still have a lot to learn. People who isolate themselves from interacting and connecting with others may not realize many aspects of their personality that need pruning. The situation can be worse for people with self-esteem issues as they may begin to see every social interaction as an affront to their reputation. Morphing into a self-centered, whiny adult happens in quiet and subtle ways one does not recognize till it is too late. Unfortunately, some people never recognize nor accept the problem, smashing every hope of change against their ego.
A balance between making time to be alone with one’s thoughts and creating a network of strong companionships with which one can share ideas and moments is not to be confused with tailoring one’s lifestyle to the opinions of the public.
The bottom line is that living in the closet blinds an individual to overgrown hairs, nails and odours that one has accepted as the new cool. We all need the healthy effect of constantly rubbing with others to smoothen our rough edges.
- Living in Isolation - October 2, 2024
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- What is Happiness? - January 21, 2023
