Walking in the lane of solitude

 

The sense of freedom is the sum total of all the elements of self-interest in the domain of life. Mostly, this is counterbalanced by customs, social norms, rules, responsibilities and duties. The rampant horse of freedom is reined-in and runs, trots, walks or gently jogs on the path of life. As a result, life has a conformist, sweet-sour, lukewarm meaning: not all good; not all bad—a conventional cocktail of survival.

Here, in the main lane, one acts, thinks or behaves almost like what all others are doing. But there are individuals whose sense of freedom overlaps the collective mould. They find it too confining. The little rebels they are.

It’s a blizzard of a peculiar type of energies that pushes one into unorthodox lanes promising walks on fresh pastures further on. But these little lanes, by-lanes and back alleys have a puzzling network.

Walking in such abandoned lane, one needs to have a very strong sense of the meaning of his/her unorthodox sense of self-interest; otherwise, it turns out to be a disorderly ramble into the unknown leading to isolation, loneliness and depression.

One ought to have a clear idea where it might lead to in the absence of conventional cushion supports of relationships, routine jobs, occupations, social networks, peer groups and the rest of collective cushion support naturally born of conforming to the sense of collectivism.

It’s a walk in isolation and only a sense of definite meaning serves as an inner compass to help one navigate the unchartered territory. But even when you are successful in crossing over to the lovely pasture across the maze, you realize that it’s never about severing all links and exist as an abstracted entity. You will find that connection is unavoidable on earth. To be a human is to share and connect in one form or the other.

We carry too much collective Homo sapiens-ness in our genes. So the best way out, in my opinion, is to maintain a healthy balance between individuality and collective identity. A well-honed sense of equilibrium is the way out. You have to set-up your own sense of individuality and meaning of life in the collective pool of human existence in a well-poised, harmonized manner.

The best path is the middle path between extreme individualism and callous collectivism.; between absolute freedom and sweetly binding responsibilities; between giving and taking; between free run and protocol-led walk. A juicily well-occasioned existence in the form of a reasonably independent part of a defining whole.