October 22, 2019-
No one is truly an outsider.
In a recent online discussion about a purported conflict, between two public figures, one of the participants made the valid point that the whole thing is contrived. Many public spats, and not a few private ones, are indeed straight out of WWE.
I am what is known as an ambivert. I live alone, though that is likely to change, if a relative shows up, in December, for a month’s stay. I live alone, mostly hike alone and, when I go to a restaurant for a meal, I usually sit alone-unless I’m at the counter. I do, for the most part, travel alone, preferring to set my own schedule.
I do not, however, regard myself as an outsider. True, I am not in very many “inner circles”- my Baha’i community, groups with which I volunteer and a handful of friendships being the exceptions. Camaraderie, with both men and women, is important in my life. If I am at an event, conversation with those around me tends to be organic and fluid. If I am in nature, I also find myself speaking, quietly, to animals, plants and even the elements. The reason is, communication is a thing of joy.
My sense is, even a hermit needs to interact with some humans, every so often. So, to say a person is an outsider is something of a chimera. We can be isolated by circumstance, and that is temporary. We can be isolated by choice, yet sooner or later, there will be a knock on the door, a phone call, a postal letter or a message of some kind on an electronic device. People in institutional settings are a serious concern, yet even they face multiple interactions with staff, volunteers and, hopefully, loved ones.
These are some thoughts that came to mind, after reading the above-mentioned participant’s rebuttal of the public figure’s claim of being an outsider.
Makes me think of “no man is an island” Seems even if we choose to isolate ourselves we are in that act sending a ripple into the world… and by our absence we are triggering other events that will eventually wash upon our shores….
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Excellent point!
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