Loneliness - Curse or Boon?

Of late, there is this creeping fear in me that I shall die one day unheralded, cold, alone and unnoticed. Does anybody else feel the same here? I dunno, but what really infuriates me no end is this unsettling feeling that probably there DOES exist something like fate. I mean look around you, do you notice that smart gal/guy who has it all in life and doesn't seem to waste a sweat in getting into that Ivy League institution? For whom it is not at all an effort to seduce the hottest member of the opposite sex? Don't you feel that rage, even if for an instant, and would rather wish the son-0f-a-bitch drop dead right there?

Okay, I was led on to thinking about this whole idea of loneliness and boredom after this Slate article and I was amazed to discover how much of me the article was really describing! All things said and done, the symptoms of loneliness, depression and the vague fear and dislike of random strangers and even close friends is a near-epidemic now what with increasingly secluded and isolated lives we live. Technology has catalyzed this rapid degeneration of our social lives and has increasingly intruded into the sacred personal domains of our lives so much so that we really do not own ourselves anymore. This is not really an attempt at decrying technology nor its wonderful after-effects in the way our lives have shaped up and improved compared to say, ten years ago. But what should be of utmost concern is that technology has substituted for life instead of complementing social life. We are plugged into our iPods 24/7, Twitter all the time, Facebook each other almost to the point of addiction but think twice about meeting someone over a cup of coffee!

That says something about our priorities but also is a damning indictment of the level of spiritual and moral degeneracy that has gripped almost the entire globalized world today. Teenagers seem to be the worst-affected as we cocoon ourselves deeper and deeper inside the wonderfully intoxicating and equally dangerously addictive tools of the Internet. It should come as no surprise to those of us who have been victims of the amazing fruits of technology and the opening up of a new world of opportunities the age of the Internet has spawned. Moderation is the key word here, any technology is as good as the person sitting and operating it. Surely, it is in our hands to make sure that we own technology rather than letting technology own us?

So, the next time you get this incredible urge to update your status on  Facebook or Superpoke some long-distance "friend", do remember that there is another equally uplifting and emotionally fulfilling world literally out there. Do take your time off to share your stories with your real-life friends, neighbours cousins and everybody else who you can touch. Remember, this is not your Second Life.

Oops, now who just kissed me on Facebook? Hmm, I better check out before they go offline.

Virtual love

To begin with, I need to confess that I have always been cynical about love and people in love. Maybe it could be due to my own inadequacies as a person who is empty from within or is just not good enough to "feel the love" that so many millions of people experience on a daily basis. Probably I was wrong and utterly so, I just do not know. It is just one of those situations in life when the story of the fox and the sour grapes rings so true. I was secure in the belief that people waste their entire lives loving one when there are so many out there who you would have fallen in love with if not for that one person you met at a random party. So, when you look at it, it is all a matter of timing isn't it? You meet someone, are attracted to them (physically and intellectually) and decide to know them better and one thing leads to another and lo!

But wait, let's look at it from a different perspective now: what if you had met this same person when you were in love with someone else or possibly even married? I am sure you would repress your feeling because it would just seem not right. Right?

So it all comes down to your perspective, I mean you have this infinite potential of loving an unlimited number of people but you stick to that one person! I mean, this surely goes against all manner of logic because you are not staying true to yourself. I, for one, would not believe that there is someone, only one mind you, out there in a world that, at last count, was teeming with six billion people (okay, Wikipedia is more accurate at 6.7 billion) of varying sizes and varying beauty.

So, to cut a long-winded story short, there is nothing magical about love! You love because you're content with that phase of your life, it's all there is to it. Reverse your circumstances or even alter them slightly and you shall find that the llight of your life is not so bright after all from that angle. The girl that was staring at you while you were partying last Saturday or that girl you found so damn uber-attractive at the traffic signal could provide for better accompaniment.

So my friends, this is not so much as cynicism but an opinion grounded in reality. Remember this, when you are in love there's something better somewhere still awaiting your notice and attention.