Showing posts with label solitude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solitude. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

This is not misanthropy


Since returning to Gamone towards the end of 2015, I’ve often imagined the idea of searching for a female companion. I’ve imagined—to take the most obvious example—that I might find her through the Internet, in much the same way that some of my best friends have done so. Of course it wouldn’t be easy. In fact it might even be damn near impossible, for many reasons. Would it be worth a try? Well, my final answer is negative. Even were I to succeed ideally in unearthing such an improbable companion, I’m not at all convinced that it might be a good idea to terminate my solitude. But I repeat the title of my post : This is not a case of misanthropy. Well then, what is it?

The relationship between two individuals in love changes significantly when they move away from their youthful era and into old age. I’m not suggesting that it’s better during the primary phase and worse during the secondary. There’s quite possibly the same degree of intensity and happiness. But the relationship is profoundly different, because it changes mathematically with advancing age. In the beginning, the two individuals probably imagined procreation as a fundamental goal… and they may or may not have succeeded in that ambition. They probably envisaged common ambitions such as acquiring a home, and establishing a family foyer.

With advancing age, people think differently. Inevitably, they are reminded periodically that one of them might soon disappear. If it were I who disappeared, then my companion would surely be sad. And if it were she who disappeared, then I would be sad. To call a spade a spade, our relationship would give rise to two possible cases of sadness. To avoid that outcome, I find it preferable to abandon the idea of seeking a female companion. So, I shall remain a solitary individual. Now, is my conclusion a demonstration of misanthropy?

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Working alone

At Gamone, every outside task that I'm called upon to perform must be done on my own. For example, I decided to move this old roof beam, which had been an acceptable rustic bench, up until it started to rot.

[Click to enlarge slightly]

If there were somebody here to help me, we would have picked up this rafter and carried it a few dozen meters to the place where I wanted to discard it. On my own, though, I had to be more imaginative. So, I used a pair of rollers, which made the task simple and effortless.

This is the spirit of my American hero Henry David Thoreau in his humble cabin (constructed by himself) in the woods of Massachusetts, alongside the lake Walden, whom I've already mentioned in this blog [display]. But don't get me wrong. I don't advocate living on one's own and being obliged to invent creative solutions to daily down-to-earth problems as an ideal lifestyle.

In the photo, notice the presence of an admirer of my ingeniousness.