Aloneness is an unavoidable condition of life. Even in the company of others I am still a very distinct and unique individual. I can enjoy the company of others but wherever I am and whatever I do I must ultimately return to the aloneness of my thoughts and consciousness.
We can never be totally unalone. There are periods, often great periods, when we are absolutely by ourselves. Even when there are others around us we may feel isolated and apart. While there are indications our mind has the capability to directly connect to that of another, there is little practical knowledge that this type of connection is available to the vast majority of people. Our minds are islands of thought, distinct from all other minds, but connected to the Universal Mind. Most of us cannot feel this connection and our sense of separateness, of aloneness, permeates our life.
We are prisoners of our own minds. Though we have the capacity to free our thoughts and wander in the vastness of experience, again, the masses are, for the most part, locked in our own consciousness. I have not delved into the truly scientific reason this is true, but our mind is a complicated piece of equipment. Even at the basic level of managing our bodies, it is a biological marvel. To ponder how it could create intelligence and foster the magnificence of thought, literature, art, technology, and emotion that humans have expressed, carries us to the realm of gods. Yet, the human condition continues to be one of aloneness and isolation, the teeming masses living lives of quiet desperation.
It is not hard to imagine the cacophony that would exist if we could read one another’s minds. The moral and social difficulties it would raise. We would all go even more so insane that it seems we are today. Imagine the chaos and disarray life would be. Without freedom of mind there can be no free will. And while our minds are held captive by the law of reason, there is freedom to allow parts of our soul to escape into the sunshine of life. It can only be seen then that the bailment of our psyche is something we can choose.
So what does it take to liberate our mind? Courage, love, hope, faith. The great virtues to which we all aspire are the tools by which we tunnel our way through life to reach the liberty of thought. It is fear that builds the walls, and doubts are the bars holding us inside. Courage and faith can rid us of the barriers to true happiness. Guilt, shame and regret, are our jailers. Forgiveness sets us free.
Our aloneness, then, is a matter of choice. We allow ourselves to back up into the isolation of self. Such isolation is good, for a season. To refresh our mind and contemplate our experience. Being alone gives us a chance to congeal our thoughts and put some order to chaos. We can go to extremes and become a recluse: imprisoning our self to solitude. If we are alone, we can choose not to be. This choice is not free of effort and giving up some freedom of mind. It takes courage to connect to another mind, especially at an intimate level.
Life is a balancing act. Our minds are free to shuttle back and forth between alone and among. We choose the depth, duration and frequency of our connectivity: what we share, what we feel, what we reveal. Ultimately I am alone. But not entirely. We are joined to the Universal Mind that brought us into being and ultimately understands us completely, even more so than ourselves, but as we journey through this reality we expose our self and are exposed to other selves. This exchange is called love, and friendship, and anger, and enmity, and joy, and hate, and trust, and the myriad other emotions that evolve from connecting to another mind. It is through learning to understand the meaning of each moment, the value of each “other”, and the reality of Self and Mind that we attain real happiness.