Connection in Isolation

Many creative people want to be isolated when they do something. They need a space and time to focus and not be disturbed. It takes not just an hour, or day, to finish a project in mind, say,  authoring a book, or painting.

Last night my daughter-in-law was upset that my son did not want to talk with anyone. A few weeks ago, he told me that he wanted to write a book and was thinking of putting up a small publishing house. So I advised her to just ask him if there was a problem and if there is none, then just give him a little time and space for himself. He is a composer, too, so he must be writing something. I know that his wife supports him. Cliff Martinez's words "Composing demands a degree of isolation" must be understood more.

Many people think that creatives are weird when they do not connect with others in the real world, or if they do, they cannot relate with them. But you know what? When alone, most of them connect to their inner selves and majority, with their Divine Source. When online, they connect with people of similar interests via related digital platforms. They see life more than routines -- going to work, eating, having fun, the same cycle again. They see life at a higher level beyond common enjoyment, beyond selfies and groupies, and nonsense cheap 'other people' conversations.

Glenn Gould said,

Isolation  is the one sure way to human happiness.

When you are alone, you can focus and think better. There are no noises to disturb you while your mind overflows with ideas that can perhaps one day transform lives, reach and connect not just a group of people, but thousands of them. If you are surrounded with people who dislike, prejudge, humiliate, reject and harm you, it is better to be alone, and in being alone you find a greater strength than theirs combined.

In history, some countries are left isolated. They can be weak in isolation due to rejection, or they can be stronger than with association because they have to utilize all that they have got at their best, to ensure continued existence for present and future generations. Come heaven or hell, they do whatever it takes to survive and thrive.

My mother taught me how not to fear isolation at an early age. Not at all times we have someone or some people with us to do things we need to be done. So if it is habitual to do things by yourself for yourself, no matter where you go adjustment will be easy and light. The inner resources particularly the emotional intelligence must be developed strongly.

Most overseas contract workers go to foreign countries by themselves without their families. There are many times that they are alone, wrapped by homesickness until they get used to it. They reinvent themselves to be creative and to hack their minds to have a mindset that isolation can be a good thing, too.

There are many people who suffer from depression and anxiety attacks despite being with many so-called friends. With materialism on the rise, people are valued by what they possess so those who have many things in life gain many friends and likes on social media. We see many cases of people fighting because at certain points in time people get connected with others, they have conflicts for a misunderstanding or whatever reason, and become sad.

If people criticize you for your needed isolation, think of Andrew Yang's lines --

Overnight successes are generally years in the making. And most progress is made in isolation, far from the public eye.

Iconic personalities who enjoyed successes in life did not make it public while they took every step in isolation towards their dreamed destinations.

Even things or ideas are handled in isolation in many cases, for the people owning them to learn more and succeed. John Mackey said, "The way most people approach business -- and the way they mostly teach in business school -- involves the analytical mind. It divides up and looks at parts in isolation."

These days I get busy writing a movie script and a book. When I write, I write in isolation. In the past when I wrote for our school publications and local newspapers and saw my writings in print, I felt great and wonderful. I am sure that if by God's grace, the characters in my writings will be played by actors and actresses and they will put life to my works I will feel very, very happy.

Does Paul Theroux make sense when he had this opinion?  "I like the idea of isolation. I like the idea of solitude. You can be connected and have a phone and still be lonely."

He does, but we need to balance isolation with connection with good, loving and caring people.

When I was in high school, I was a member of the Moral Re-armament (MRA) Sing-out. One of my favorite songs was The Lettermen's "No Man is an Island" (1968). We always say this, "No man is an island." It is John Donne's famous line.  His book with the same title published in 1988 sends the readers 'a message of hope and understanding of human lives'.

In life there comes a time when we need to be isolated, not just it is our intent to be so to do something but it happens, whether we like it or not. Many people get sick and are put in an isolation hospital, yet there is that dependence on doctors, nurses and other medical team members, and above them, their families.

No matter how we feel alone due to circumstances beyond our control -- weak and fragile in our old days and all we go there -- our life matters as a part of the human race. We play our role between life and death which has its mysterious cycle in every single human being.

My religious group here in the UAE has an outreach program. Every Wednesday, the Outreach Ministry members go to the hospital to visit the sick people, most of whom have the aura of isolation like they were left alone and abandoned. Our ministry members do not know them, but for sure they bring genuine smiles, say words of hope and give them the message that their lives matter. This reminds me of my compassionate mother who always found time to visit relatives and friends who were sick when I was young.

In isolation, at a core level, I passionately make a web of nature, connecting myself to my soul, my Creator,  my inner voice, my ideas, my goals, my time and people who matter to me. I can be isolated, but not that extremely isolated, as the wall of isolation is at its thinnest point when you are connected to your highest purpose.

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Photo credits:  Pixabay