perhaps I am projecting. I am not alone as much as I would like to be and find social situations tolerable but not necessary. I am more likely to be bored and day dreaming in company other than my own. When I do not have to give attention to someone else, I find my mind wonderfully focused and alive. So I think, the quality of aloneness is determined by the person who either chooses to be alone or is forced to be alone. I will agree that there is no guarantee that one will find a person who is mentally attuned to yourself in such a way that you do not feel lonely. I will go further and say that finding such a person is not a guarantee that you will not be even more lonely. But this in my opinion is because another person cannot make you feel more or less lonely
I can't relate here. To me, my loneliness seems forced. It depends on who that person is and what they can give you. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Like they say: The rider knows nothing fo the problems of the footman, and the footman knows nothing of the problems of the rider. Or: A wife has wife problems, a husband has husband problems, a poor person has poor people problems, a rich person has rich people problems ... a stupid person has stupid people problems, an intelligent person has intelligent people problems ... everyone has their problems.
Why do you feel loneliness is enforced? Is there a quality to being alone you cannot overcome? Aren't you more likely to be disappointed if you seek the end of loneliness in another, rather than in yourself?
Yes, it seems to me there is an aspect of loneliness that one cannot overcome by oneself. I cannot force people to like me, for example. I am still convinced - by way of hope - that there is a person with whom the end of loneliness can be found. A person who is worthy of full surrender and who can accept it. (Although humans generally are not in this category.)
If an intelligent person is surrounded by simple people couldn't he take comfort in teaching? I am smarter than a child but I still love being around for them. Maybe if you're a haughty turd who thinks you're better than everyone else then you might feel lonely.
There is much to be said for the power of will and faith. If you believe there is such a person, you will find one. I do not believe. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
no, you just think it does. but then most people believe THEY posses high intelligence. imagine that.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! reminds me of when i was aroune 7-8 years old and i was hanging out with this guy, much oler than me but a real cool dude. i sat there and stared at him for awhile and then it came to me: i said: 'you know, if your bald in the front it means you think a lot and if your bald in the back it means your smart' he said 'so' and i said: 'well if your bald in the fron and the back that mean you think your smart' he was bald in fron and back. we sat there and laughed for like five minutes and just something i will never forget.
I don't see the connection. Does theism automatically make one a romantic? I'm a pragmatist and a person who is perhaps too self contained. My usual approach to life is all or nothing, this is not a choice, more like a personality defect, since being uncompromising has many more disadvantages than advantages. I do not believe there is that one person out there who is the real or true complement to all my needs and thoughts and wishes. Thats an unrealistic expectation. I also believe that I have greater control over my own wishes and thoughts than those of others. So its up to me to gratify myself or overcome my limitations. This is not as simple or as straightforward as it sounds since it means that many times I make choices which are governed by my inability to compromise and hence are less effective than they could be. I do not think that being a theist changes that very much in either direction.
They cannot scare me with their empty spaces between stars On stars where no human race is I have it in me so much nearer home To scare myself with my own desert places mmm i like frost a metaphysical loneliness really more profound than the juvenile existential angst peppering this thread
I like Frost too. He makes me like winters. Juvenile existential angst should not be underestimated. Its more common than metaphysical aloneness.
i agree, sam as you can see that was the first thing that popped into my mind when i came across this thread
I reiterate: loneliness is like hunger, it is your feeling and you need to decide if it bothers you so much that you want to do anything about it. If you do, than there are things to do to address that, if not, you just go on doing what you were doing. IMHO, most folks who think they are outstandingly intelligent are not. This effect is similar to the fact that most drivers will tell you that they drive better than most drivers.
lucky you if only my aloneness, a seemingly a priori condition assumed to be the case thru epistemic, ontological and metaphysical considerations were as easily assuaged as hunger "my" introspection yields not a self, but an other /snicker
