Sometimes feelings of what it might be like to live somewhere completely uninhabited by other people, arise in my consciousness.
Though the reasons for there being no other humans around at all could change practical and emotional feelings about being alone, the simple reality of being the only human one will ever encounter again in this lifetime is kind of an intense one in some ways.
Anyone remember that movie with Tom Hanks a few years ago in a similar scenario after the plane he was on crashed, and he was the only survivor on a deserted island. Im forgetting the name of it at the moment. He went through a rough period of emotional, mental & physical reorienting to his new situational reality. Eventually seeming to more or less accept it.
Hey, he even made friends with that very quiet Wilson character.
Sometimes, provided there are enough natural resources for relatively healthy, life-sustaining food, water, clothing & shelter, living at such an organic pace in a relatively quiet, natural world devoid of civilization most of us have become so accustomed to sounds very attractive. Though Ive read a few wilderness survival books, taken a basic class on wild, edible foods and tried building a few fires without matches, wild foraging & related primitive skills are areas of understanding I have alot to learn about so would likely not be ready if it were to happen tonight.
Emotionally & mentally, if the solitude were for some crazy reason like a nuclear war, biological weapons or virus outbreak scenario and somehow I was the only survivor I knew of and encountered no other living people again among thousands of rotting, smelly corpses, there would probably be a heavier psychological aura to work through for a while.
After a while though what a different reality! Freedom in so many ways. Minus the opportunities to relate with other people.
How might you feel in such a situation, based on imagining if it were to happen to you now? Would you feel appreciative for the quiet solitude & freedom? Miss friends, family, career or other social relationships for a little while then forget about them? Feel like ending your own life?
Readapting to your new reality?
Though the reasons for there being no other humans around at all could change practical and emotional feelings about being alone, the simple reality of being the only human one will ever encounter again in this lifetime is kind of an intense one in some ways.
Anyone remember that movie with Tom Hanks a few years ago in a similar scenario after the plane he was on crashed, and he was the only survivor on a deserted island. Im forgetting the name of it at the moment. He went through a rough period of emotional, mental & physical reorienting to his new situational reality. Eventually seeming to more or less accept it.
Hey, he even made friends with that very quiet Wilson character.
Sometimes, provided there are enough natural resources for relatively healthy, life-sustaining food, water, clothing & shelter, living at such an organic pace in a relatively quiet, natural world devoid of civilization most of us have become so accustomed to sounds very attractive. Though Ive read a few wilderness survival books, taken a basic class on wild, edible foods and tried building a few fires without matches, wild foraging & related primitive skills are areas of understanding I have alot to learn about so would likely not be ready if it were to happen tonight.
Emotionally & mentally, if the solitude were for some crazy reason like a nuclear war, biological weapons or virus outbreak scenario and somehow I was the only survivor I knew of and encountered no other living people again among thousands of rotting, smelly corpses, there would probably be a heavier psychological aura to work through for a while.
After a while though what a different reality! Freedom in so many ways. Minus the opportunities to relate with other people.
How might you feel in such a situation, based on imagining if it were to happen to you now? Would you feel appreciative for the quiet solitude & freedom? Miss friends, family, career or other social relationships for a little while then forget about them? Feel like ending your own life?
Readapting to your new reality?
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Thu, May 29, 2008 - 9:22 PMi need my friends, but not a relationship
freedom is big for me.
humans are too social and dependent on others for our emotional, and physical well being. -
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Fri, May 30, 2008 - 1:36 AMYeah. If that really happened to me I am not sure how I would really feel over time?
Might miss people, or at least certain people for a while. Or longer? Probably would acclimate after a while to the lifelong, relative solitude.?
Ive known people who describe themselves as needing to be around people most all the time. Wonder how they might feel & 'fare' in such circumstances?
Maybe they would find a strength & peace inside them even without others which might suprise them? Or maybe feel lonely & estranged for the remainder of their lives? Make better friends with themselves. Carrying on conversations, debates with the different aspects of them/ourselves. That could be fun! -
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Fri, May 30, 2008 - 1:37 PMI would languish by myself. I enjoy solitude just as much as the next Piscean, but I also enjoy sex, and that just ain't gonna happen on a deserted isle.
Life without sex is barely worth living :D -
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Sat, June 7, 2008 - 8:32 AMI've actually played this scenario out in my head before too (weird, huh? :) and I think the process would probably go in phases.
First off, I've taken enough wilderness survival course and spent enough time in the woods to feel confident that I wouldn't die of thirst or hunger, so that's a start.
Then I think the first phase would involve wanting to get the hell off the island, signalling to potential airplanes or boats, etc.....then after a while, when it became clear you weren't going anywhere, I think I would probably get really depressed, sad, worried about all the people I love.
Then phase 3, after settling in with the idea that you ain't going nowhere, then begins the life of the monk right? What else you gonna do? Practice yoga, meditate, form a spiritual relationship with the other-than-human persons on the island, and get to living.
So once phase 3 kicked in I think I'd be alright for the most part, though I'm sure there would always be a part of me that would miss my family and friends..
Yeah, and the whole not having sex thing would definitely suck. Though I imagine with enough meditation and consciousness elevation even that would become a secondary consideration.
:)
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Sun, June 8, 2008 - 12:28 PMI haven't seen that movie, but I have a general idea of what it was about. I know if I was in that situation I would hate it lol! Even though, ironically, I'm not a big 'people person' and I like to have a lot of alone time. But I would get very lonely in that situation. -
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Sun, June 8, 2008 - 5:04 PMmaybe we could choose the weather / climate of this place? It could be like a garden of eden before anyone else ( male or female ) was "created". Imagining whatever is desired into origination, other than another person. Today is a warmly luxurious, gorgeous day as I sit in one of the many lush, green & grassy oasis at UC Berkeleys' main campus, eating lunch, writing out a rough outline for a biography of sorts & making this little thread contribution. Granted if there were no other people here the food would be a bit different, and the writing would be purely for the creative process of self-expression & discovery. Although even when writing to share with others like this, those motivations still significantly apply at least for myself. So, imagining being here all alone in such a world can be wonderful too. Hours of spontaneous qigong , tai chi... meditative & delightful movement and standing within such a harmoniously ideallic world feels attractive too. Image being "born" into a reality like this where we never meet another human, ever! Somehow not even whoever gave birth to us. Imagination creates reality here as it is, and it seems likely much more immediately & potently once we are free of this cloaked life experience into natural realms pure being?. Via conscious resensitization, calm awareness and / or"death". -
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Fri, June 27, 2008 - 6:32 PMI would get lonely but that's what astral travel is for! I do require an insane amount of time alone though so it might just work out in my case to be on a deserted island. Sexual needs can be dealt with in other ways and I have never "needed" a man for that lol. Well, maybe an imaginary one. -
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Thu, July 3, 2008 - 1:17 AM<Sexual needs can be dealt with in other ways and I have never "needed" a man for that lol. Well, maybe an imaginary one.>
You just haven't met the right Piscean man! /wink
We can be everything you ever imagined, and then some.
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Re: Lonely hell or relished freedom?
Mon, July 21, 2008 - 1:02 AMI'd readapt. I think I'd go wild very fast. I already feel like a wild person forced to act in a civilized manner. I might also go a bit psychotic as I tend to lose touch with reality when I'm by myself for extended periods of time
