A while ago, a friend of mine who works in psychology told me one of these statements after hearing it, as I usually say. move the internal structure. Seriously and without trivialisation, we were talking about the benefits or harms of sugar. live in solitude. The first is undoubtedly the freedom to make and undo, in your most intimate setting, without having to share the private space with someone else, and dozens of decisions throughout the day. Among the latter, frankly, as so often happens, the pain and suffering that drags on, if this loneliness is not only desirable, but the result of unexpected and undesirable events in one’s life. Or it starts and ends as something desired like a swamp that it is impossible to get out despite being worn out over and over again.
I was living alone back then. And when I say alone I say absolutely alone. Due to circumstances, only I lived on my farm – a small family building with three heights and three houses – although the other two were the owners. But they did not live in it or rent it. It was just me in my house (my cats and my partner showed up later, which came in that order). And my neighborhood is booming as dozens of traditional townhouses are now being rehabilitated, there weren’t many people living at the time, and it was. also a little sad.
And then he said: “I believe this more and more. loneliness is the strongest act of violence that a person can suffer. We are social, tribal beings who weave the necessary love webs to communicate and interact with one another. Alone, we cannot survive. For me, at that special moment in life, this revelation created a Himalayan-sized inner revolution. I’m a journalist, all day long with people, chatting, sharing, in the company… Did I live in an environment of violence when I came home as a result of self-imposed loneliness?».
All these thoughts and my journey through the desert came back in full force when I read a book a few days ago. Chilling news from a few years ago on the BBC (not very up to date) they say Japanese old men were playing20-30 euros without any nonsense at any store in the neighborhood then appears before the police and goes to jail. The goal: to be fed, cared for and, above all, to get rid of their extreme loneliness. According to Japanese officials, this process started 20 years ago, but recently the problem is so striking that it has aroused the attention and concern of many industries and media. To what point would a society go to dehumanize and impoverish its elders, whose citizens would rather end their days behind bars but accompany them. free but alone?
Low pensions, impossible rents, expensive food, even more expensive electricity, increased social isolation, difficulty being self-sufficient and not being a burden to children are the main reasons for sweet old Japanese men or women to put things in their pockets and let it be as God wills. There will be those who think that Japanese reality so rigid and so disciplined is far from our most loving, familiar and communicative day. but not too much. Incomprehensible ATMs, procedures light-years beyond the capacity of many, and a speed that drags us all down make the most vulnerable center victims. And they may be today but tomorrow be sure we will.