The Frenzy of Loneliness and Social Junkfood
Posted: July 20th, 2008 under Love and Friendship.
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I was just about ready to run out the door and hit the farmer’s market and join the hundreds of Madisonians leaving their houses for broad daylight to browse the greenery and listen to music when I realized I was getting caught up in a manic habit. Driven by an urge for basic social contact, to feel as though I’m in the midst of others, I was rushing, still half asleep, to look nice and speed to the crowd, as though I were missing all the fun, and if I didn’t make it in time, I would be left out and… alone. Yet, in pursuing this frenzied social nexus, I was sacrificing all my tranquility.
I discovered a power outlet in my house that will run my laptop, but it won’t recharge the battery. I think the farmer’s market and gatherings of that sort are just like that. I plug in, and I can run quite well while there, but the minute I unplug, my batteries die again.
My ideal is kicking back by the lake for hours and hours, until the stars are out, drinking tea and talking about anything and everything. Instead, sometimes I only get to see my friends for a few minutes here, a few minutes there. During those moments, I plug in, but I don’t recharge. I feel as though I’m left hanging, mid-sentence, wondering when I’ll next get the chance to connect. Everyone is so busy. And of course, everyone is also so lonely.
The more lonely I become, the more frenzied I get for social contact, the less choosy, and so I fill my calendar with superficial events, social junkfood. And the more I fill my calendar, the less time I have for the deeper connections. We give up the more meaningful, genuine intimacies for bits and pieces of social candy, and as a result, we become even more hungry.
This morning, I’m staying home. It was a difficult decision, but within ten minutes, I was exceedingly satisfied with the decision to trade my mad rush to the festivities for the tranquility of solitude. Whenever my next opportunity arises to select from the social menu, it will be health food.