Solitude and social interaction...the balance.

 

Jim Carrey woke up to reality and he is influencing many people all over the world .Some thought he was losing his mind, when he moved past the thinking mind, toward his deeper sense of self, in reality he just woke up to understand the truth about life.

I was at a social gathering last night with about 30 people . Its great to see old friends again and learn about what has been happening in their lives. I talked to about half of these people, mostly the men, with good conversation . The problem is about 4:00 am, I woke thinking about these conversations and began rehashing them in my mind. I have learned to watch thoughts in meditation and get them under control. For a couple of hours I kept thinking about all that was said in these earlier conversations . Finally I drifted off to sleep again. I woke a few hours later not feeling very well rested, and very groggy.

I am beginning to believe that Solitude is very addictive as Jim Carrey mentions in the above quote. When you spend most of your time in the quiet, alone you do get addicted to the peace and calm. People all let off a field of energy. I could visualize each individual conversation I had earlier, as being like a small vortex of energy. Most of the talking was very positive but it is still energy in thought form. 

I read somewhere that monks who live in remote areas in total solitude have a problem processing all the extra info and energy when they occasionally venture into the busyness of a city. One monk said it takes him a week of meditation to get back to a settled state in his inner being, after being in the city.  

So, I understand why Carrey states that being around people drains your energy and I do understand the dangers of solitude.  But, what is a person to do ...solitude is a gateway into inner stillness. Inner stillness is the path to heaven on earth. The secret I believe, is balance. We need human contact in order to avoid insanity, and to experience and share love and compassion for others, but too much contact will also have its negative effects.  So my conclusion on this matter is we probably need to keep a balance of solitude and human interaction. Too much or too little of either is not healthy.