Reading Response – the Reward of the Solitary Life
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I grow older day by day, learning more about myself as well as the society that I live in. During this era of globalization, where everything is at my finger tips, I tend spend more time in social interactions and discover others view about world. With Facebook, Twitter and other social networks I learn more about other; what they do, what they think, where they are about and the list goes on and on. But often I forget that there is something more important for me to discover-the inner self. I devote my life becoming someone, implying the rules made by the society and creating someone that the society will look up to till the point where I forgot that I spend little time on exploring the “inner me”.
In the essay, “The Reward of a Solitary Life” by Mary Sarton was about the advantages of living a solitary life in which she discovers more about herself. The essay does remind me of Eric Hoffer saying, “With some people solitariness is an escape not from others but from themselves. For they see in the eyes of others only a reflection of themselves.” And I think that Sarton was trying to convey this message to her readers. In the first paragraph, Sarton tells the story of her acquaintance that unexpectedly spends a couple of hours alone, and he enjoys it. She spent her time only for her and she finds that it is much more worthwhile than communicating with others. I partial agree with Sarton. Sometimes being alone does inspire oneself, leading one to realize the potential and true interest with in him or her. When I am alone, I do a lot of self reflection and it does inspire and satisfy me but sometimes it also makes me depress; when I am reflecting about the mistakes that I have done. So, it is never easy to communicate with the inner me. “To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than their own hearts in their close,” once said. I found it easier to interact with others than the inner me. Yet, I am fully aware that I need to balance the inner me and the outer me.
“Alone we can afford to be wholly whatever we are, and to feel whatever we feel absolutely,” Sarton writes. I do agree with Sarton. It gives me a sense of freedom when I am alone. I get to do whatever that I wanted to do. I do not have to compare myself to others and there is no one to care of what I am doing, but only me. And I also dont have to pay attention to others opinions. When I am around other, I had to restrain my opinion or thoughts on a topic, just simply because I do not what be seem outcast of the conversation. And there is also times when I had to take in whatever the professionals opinion and accept it just the way it is without question even when I do not agree completely with them. It does sometimes annoy me when I am not able to let others know my opinion of the problem only because I am not in the position