ISOLATION: THE OTHER SIDE
One of the biggest deception and misconception of the society is the concept of isolation. I reckon for many of you, the concept of isolation must be somewhere along the lines of loneliness, emptiness, monochromes, and even depression. I don’t blame you for having such a conception; it may appear that way if you don’t look closely enough.
This piece hopefully will shed a different light to society’s existing conception of isolation. Standing from a viewpoint of an introvert, one that cherishes alone-times every now and then, you’ll be welcomed into a whole new blissful, empowering, and colourful world of isolation.
Often shivers run down people’s backs when they hear the word isolation. Isolation equals loneliness, so they say.
I came across a quote that has been stuck with me for a while now. It’s from a book written by Macrina Widerkehr, and it reads: “If you’re hungry for growth, spend time with your loneliness.”
At first, though it caught my unwitting attention, it made no sense whatsoever to me. But after a while of pondering, then it hit me.
Of course the writer didn’t mean ‘loneliness’ in a depressive way; she meant it as being alone – you know, forgetting the rest of the world for a minute fraction of time, and just focus on your own self.
She simply meant that if you’re fearful of being on your own, you’re missing out on one of the essentials to grow.
You see, I think being ‘alone’ is a pretty good place to discover and re-discover yourself. You’re being given the room, the luxury of time, and the lavishness of space, to retrospect and introspect inwards. Through these processes, you’ll realise many things about the world, about your day, and more often than not, about yourself, which you tend to often miss in the middle of all the hullabaloos.
Now, I’d never go anywhere without remembering that sentence. It empowers me in the way love empowers people.
It leaves me fearless.
For me, isolation equals sanity break. And by that I mean, isolation equals, believe it or not, being free.
In this day and age, solitude or just a brief moment of silence is like a rare gem. We are always clustered, buried, and trapped in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives that sometimes even finding the time to breathe seems to be such a hard thing to do. In the same way, our minds are given no time and space to catch a breath and unwind.
Do you know that in psychology, over exhaustion, or simply lack of sanity breaks, is one of the main causes for mental breakdowns?
Think of isolation as being on your own in peace, in your own time, in your own space. To me, that luxury, that freedom, is even more precious than gold. Truth to be told, your mind have been working like a busy well-oiled structured machine, you desperately owe it its freedom to do what the mind does best: Wonder.
Have a time-out. Be outside of time for a bit. Be free.
Another misconception about isolation is that it is deemed to be boring, bland, and unadventurous. As for me, I think it’s the other way around – Isolation equals being adventurous.
The little laneways of Melbourne city actually facilitate isolation, believe it or not. This busy city, you might ask? Yes.
Those little laneways just make it extremely easy for you to get lost and immerse you in the wonder that is this beautiful city, and while doing that, allowing you to plunge into your own thoughts and just be free.
Isolation means getting lost, getting lost in your thoughts and in the wonders and beauty around you. It means being adventurous.
Isolation equals not missing the main object.
Take this example: One of my favourite laneways here in Melbourne is that one on Flinders street, just beside the Mexican restaurant, the one is painted full in graffiti. It’s one of the most sought-after laneways here, both for tourists and locals.
The first time I went there was with a bunch of friends for an impromptu photo shoot. The photos were stunning, the graffiti walls really made the perfect backdrop.
The next time I came back to the same laneway, I was alone. Only then did I realise how special the graffiti walls are. I never realized that that bit over there is blue, and that bit is green, and that other bit at the far end is a mixture of red and yellow.
How did I miss paying attention to those colours?
What I’m trying to say is, sometimes when you’re isolated and alone, you start seeing things for what they are – the main object of the picture, and not just a mere backdrop.
It makes me question: How many main objects in life have you treated as a mere backdrop?
How many main things in life have you missed out on?
One of the biggest deception and misconception of the society is the concept of isolation. It is when people think of it as being locked up with the mind caged.
It’s actually, always have been, the other way around.
