
The Art of Being Alone - doener
https://fs.blog/2020/06/being-alone/
======
theshrike79
I've said this multiple times, but it bears repeating:

The most important job of a parent is to make sure their kid(s) are bored.

From boredom comes innovation and the ability to be alone with ones thoughts.

We practiced this actively with our first-born and they can invent a game or
play with just about anything.

A scarf will be a cape, the exercise stick I was using is a staff and now
they're Gandalf. Next the scarf is a roof in a fort, which the stick is
holding up etc.

And just the ability for kids to be quiet and alone with their thoughts on
long car trips is amazing. Brings up some really weird questions though, when
a preschooler or first grader thinks about stuff for a while :)

~~~
systemvoltage
I don't think is a good just for kids, it is good for humans in general. I sit
on the commode, bored without a cellphone and find a shampoo bottle, ponder
about all the processes that goes into make shampoo.

We all need boredom. Shut down computers once in a while, go garden. Or just
sit.

~~~
pengaru
I used to spend a lot of time on the commode or in the tub reading and
thinking. Now I prefer to have more blood and air pumping for thinking, it's
better.

Discovering running and big DIY excavation projects I can do with just a
shovel has been life-changing. Anything cardio that requires little thinking
is wonderful, and it's such a great payoff for maintaining some level of
fitness that forms a positive feedback loop.

~~~
macNchz
Yeah I find that long runs provide me both a meditative aspect and a boredom
aspect that can really clear my mind and spark creative thinking. I very often
find myself struggling with sweaty fingers to jot down ideas on my phone at
the end of a run.

~~~
lozf
Perhaps consider an easily activated voice recorder app, or maybe even Siri /
Google Assistant if you can abide the ToS.

------
dugditches
As other touched on: Lots of social people are experiencing Loneliness they
may have never encountered due to lockdowns, working from home, etc.

One has to wonder if it'll have other effects. As in people will rush to get
back to social norms(clubs, restaurants, etc) regardless of risk. Or maybe
that some people will become less social and adopt some more introverted
lifestyle choices after learning about spending time alone.

------
totetsu
>>Becoming a machine also meant having relationships with machines, using
physical devices as a way of filling the uncomfortable, sometimes unbearable
space between self and world

Sounds like kids these days.

The idea of connecting with people who have inhabited the same lonely space
before you via their work, makes me wonder, is it so important to be in the
same city?

------
tartoran
Im get bored with technology quite often. Its my body probably trying to
communicate something: get up, move, focus your eyes on different surfaces,
etc

------
dnprock
Being alone is a strange experience. Most people can't tolerate it. I think
maybe 5-10% of people will make through it. They'll give up. They'll find ways
to reconnect.

It's important to have faith. It'll spark curiosity, hope and optimism.
Otherwise, pessimism will slowly consume you. Studying philosophy, religion
and history are useful to develop faith.

Being alone is hard. But it can help us develop deep understanding.

