Meditations on the Human Condition

I think that it would be impossible for me, or indeed anyone, to survive- psychologically or emotionally- for a year without any human contact. Of course the prospect of unlimited opportunities for education and material wealth, among other things, would be appealing. But humans are social animals. By nature, we tend to form groups and constantly interact. I'd even go so far as to say that we define ourselves by our experiences with other people. In essence, involvement with others is necessary to growth and development as well as emotional stability. As much as we hate to admit it, we need to love, we need to hate, and we need other people. No one can subsist on their own mind alone. 1

Besides this basic necessity, the bonds we form with our family/friends/community are essential to our well-being. Not having any contact with them, or even knowing who's still alive, would be excruciating. One would have to wipe all reminders of loved ones out of life during that year- even pictures- because they would be too painful. The lack of emotional involvement would leave inevitable scars on the psyche. It's hard to believe that anyone would put themselves in this position voluntarily. 2

Another issue would be the sense of disassociation with the world- no news, no communication, no way of knowing what's going on outside the walls of the house. We've grown used to categorizing our lives by coming dates and world events; it would be a bit depressing to suddenly be living in the past, whether through literature or our own memories. This rises the question of whether reality, memory, and dreams could remain separate- there would be no way to know what was happening, what had happened in the past. In this situation I would cease to trust myself altogether.3

Many people seem to be under the impression that a year alone would help them “discover themselves.” This is doubtful. At sixteen, one has a slightly different outlook on life and freedom than she/he will with experience with independence. Even then, few people are capable of inspiring themselves to learn or self-reflect. The opportunity to expand would be there, but without any outside forces pushing to make it happen- which also happens to be the sole motivation for reaching goals. I’m not exempt from this- a book about existentialism has been sitting on my desk for months now, just waiting to enlighten me, but to no avail. This would happen in a much larger way in confinement, even without interruptions, even without the pointless details that, as Thoreau described, rule my life. When forced to spend so much time with only myself and my past, I’d go insane evaluating my failures. Stripping my existence down to the bare necessities would do nothing for me except illustrate how incompatible I am with my idea of enlightenment.  4

I doubt that anyone who considers themselves capable of doing this has fully considered it. A few days, or even weeks, of being alone would be tolerable; but it's impossible to predict the results of an entire year by those standards. Most people have no experience to build on in that respect. Human nature, and connections to loved ones and society as a whole, prevent it.5