Spending some Time Alone might be the only Way to save this World (or what’s left of it)
A lot of people ask me why I’m so fond of taking a stroll so early in the morning. And I reply, “I truly believe that the world would be a better place without us Homo sapiens and you get to see a glimpse of that world at five in the morning”. Even though the first part I mean as a joke (or do I? 🙃), I certainly stand by the second. I know it sounds a bit rude to ask people to ‘spend time alone’ after almost two years in lockdown- but that just might be the only way to save this world, or what’s left of it.
With the advent of internet, the world has become one big vessel that stocks everything it can get its hands on. The people might now be more connected to one another- in the sense they can talk to each other thousands of kilometres apart, and can share things in a matter of seconds, and even meet one another face-to-face through various means. But is it worth being connected to each other if we are compromising on our relationship with ourselves? We are bombarded with ideas and thoughts that are, strictly speaking, alien to us, all day long- so much so that we can hardly distinguish it with our own thoughts. Just reflect on your daily routine- if you were brought up in a traditional Indian family, your day starts with a cup of chai and some juicy gossips in the so-called newspapers. The train of gossips follows you on the streets, at work and even in your own bedrooms. Not to mention our obsession with stalking (following) celebrities on Facebook and Instagram. Needless to say, I’m not against using social media (especially as you might be reading this very para in your social media account). But if you don’t find time to spend alone, talking with yourself (ideally aloud), you get submerged inside this ocean of thoughts and ideas that you had nothing to do with in the first place. You become a Xerox copy of the people around who are themselves Xerox copies of others (credits: Bojack Horseman).
The next time you are with a group of your friends, intentionally make a mental note of the things that change within yourselves- the way you class other people, the way you perceive things, the way you think and reflect. You are no more just ‘you’, you are part of the society at large, which is certainly not a bad thing most of the time. But when you constantly become just a part of the bigger whole and miss out on opportunities to be the whole on your own at times, you slowly give up your freedom to think and make decisions. Slowly but surely, you become the puppet to someone else, just like you become the puppeteer to another- eventually leading to a world full of ‘yes-men’ and ‘yes-women’ who control one another but not themselves.
What I’m proposing is for you to squeeze in just a little bit of ‘me-time’ in your busy life schedule. Sit with yourselves with no other distractions- make yourself your favourite drink or walk through your favourite spot. Listen to no one else for some time but yourself, observe no one but you, and let your thoughts and ideas come out of their claustrophobic cage.
Just imagine how peaceful and beautiful this world would be if people were just themselves and not just a reflection of the latest social media trend or gang gossip…
