I was reminded this weekend of something I learned a long time ago. That being around other people is good and necessary for my spirit and to be happy. I very much enjoy writing and maintaining this and my wife’s blog. However, sitting in front of computers alone, for up to twelve hours a day, every day, can be socially limiting. This has only been happening for a short time due to career changes, so I caught it early. Now it’s up to me to make the necessary changes to maintain my spiritual condition and happiness.

Many years ago, I found other reasons to shut myself off from the world. I might have been depressed or usually, it was some form of protection device to keep from being hurt. I figured if I wasn’t around other people then I couldn’t be hurt by other people. Makes sense in a vacuum, but not in this life. By shutting myself off from other people, I was missing out on the social connections necessary to maintain spiritual, mental and emotional balance. Apparently I was a bit too sensitive to feel safe at times socially and perhaps I needed to stay away from certain people and situations until I felt strong enough. Through many years of spiritual and psychological work, indicative of the information on this site, I no longer have a need for such protection and am almost never depressed, even through, what others may perceive as, very difficult times. I haven’t needed to shut myself from the world for many years, which is good, because as I said, it damages the spirit.

As made apparent in the opening paragraph, we can unintentionally stifle our social life as well, by our lifestyle choices which can have a negative affect on our spiritual, mental and emotional conditions. Being reminded of what affect a lack of social interaction can have and what that feels like, was a good learning experience for me. Sometimes changes in our lives and schedules will require us to in turn make changes to see that we are properly addressing our needs. Human beings need human contact, plain and simple. So, get out of the house, go to the store, a movie or the park. Sometimes you may not even need to say more than a few words to someone but just being in public with others can do wonders for the spirit. Of course, we also need to interact and socialize with family and/or friends on a more personal level.

If you truly are alone and do not have family or friends, it’s time to do some footwork. Join a group or a club. There are groups for everything these days. You could join a church group or volunteer at a hospital or senior home. There are plenty of opportunities to get out there and meet people. I am not telling you that this will be easy at first, in fact it may be rather awkward but we all have to be the new person sometime.

This post touched on who I used to be many years ago and felt more personal to write than most other posts. I hope it helps at least one person feel better and improve their life. That should make the post worth writing. May you be happy and at peace.

Tags: Awareness, Isolation, Socialization