Thursday, September 1, 2011
Here goes nothin'
Love, anger, jealousy, sadness, all emotions influenced by others. Wars have been fought over the love of a women and lives completely uprooted over a flash of anger. What is it about human nature that makes us seek each other out in order to feel something, positive or negative? Plainsong by Kent Haruf describes the lives of seven isolated characters who unconsciously gravitate to each other, in the process greatly improving the quality of life which raises the question, can humans be happy without anyone else? Is there such a thing as being "self-sufficient" ? If you think about it every emotion somehow connects back to another person or society as a whole. Say a student is upset over receiving a below average grade but without others to compare too there would be no average. Conditioning and social norms shapes a huge amount of who we are as a person, are we really our own person or are we just bits and pieces of other people who have influenced us? What would a person be like who had never associated with anyone else? What does it mean to be an individual and is that it even possible?
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Hi Haley--
ReplyDeleteWow--you ask several profound questions, and I am fascinated by the picture you include at the end of your post--was it inspired by a particular event in your life, or does it relate to something you read? I would love to hear more personal stories that connect to this question (if you feel comfortable sharing them), and at some point you will probably need to focus on just one question. But for now, good luck discovering the difference between being alone and loneliness! Good luck!
Haley!
ReplyDeleteI like where you're going with this idea. I think it's a very strong observation and I'm especially intrigued by the connection between being an individual and being alone. People encourage us to be an individual in a world where we're told to be better than everyone else by excelling in standardized classes. In essence -- being an individual by being better at following societal standards than everyone else? Curious curious. I like it! I can't wait to see where it takes you!