Even Mowgli made friends

My inclination is to try to accept the possibility that any form of existence can be worthwhile. However, this morning (don't ask me why) my mind turned to Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli, the boy who was separated from his parents when they were attacked by a tiger and who was then raised by wolves.

It's all very well to suggest that anybody can forge a meaningful life in any circumstances and, as I have previously written, I'd like to believe that a life can be meaningful even if one does not have the faculty to be aware of its purpose, BUT I for one would loose my mind after just a few weeks without human contact and I don't think that this is an unusual symptom of isolation.

According to secular humanists, we are social creatures who find meaning in personal relations. I agree with this. When I hear that someone is actually attempting to discover the nature of existence by sitting alone in the middle of a forest, I generally consider them to be crazy. The major reason why I think that anyone who does choose to live in isolation is a bit of a nut is because I assume that prolonged loneliness will send even the most sane individual around the bend.

You could tell me until you were blue in the face that to find the meaning of life I must venture into the forest/desert/middle of the sea and remain still and silent until the true nature of my inner self is revealed to me. I'll never believe you. For a start, it sounds to me like this true nature that I would discover might be a hallucination and given that previous hallucinations I have had have taken the form of antelopes and cartoon characters, I'm not sure that I would be any the wiser if I listened to what this 'true self' told me.

Secondly, and more importantly, we are animals who need community, conversation and physical contact. Although Maslow's theories regarding the hierarchy of human needs suggest that those who achieve self-actualisation require less contact with others, in my opinion this detachment seems cold.

And herein lies one of the challenges that I imagine must be faced by great geniuses - if a person chooses to find meaning in one sliver of the realm of experience and to become truly dedicated to this very specialised search for meaning, other aspect of life must often be chopped off at the root and discarded, in order that the flow of energies be directed entirely into whatever the person has made the pet-project of his or her existence. Those who choose to focus their energies in this way are often responsible for the great leaps forward that society can thank for movements in art, masterful music and cures for common diseases.

However, the sacrifice that these people make is immense and in some way I wonder whether those who cannot achieve balance between their work and the softer aspects of human life, sacrifice too much, given that they only get one chance to dance, so to speak.

I'm conscious that it sounds as if I am belittling the contribution of people with focused minds, which I don't want to do. What I do want to draw attention to is this: I believe that the measure of a life may be made in a variety of ways. Some people make one spectacular contribution that positively influences the lives of many. Others quietly go about their quiet lives, supporting the people around them through lifetimes. Some people create meaning from their own actions but other people stand at the intersection of many positive networks of friends and family and support an entire tree and branch system of good feeling. There is no way to attribute a greater value to one, over the other.

Plus, while not all of us enjoy loud mouthed debate or sharing gossip over coffee, every one of us must benefit enormously from tiny interactions with others, which we might not even recall afterwards. Even Mowgli made friends with the animals that Kipling portrayed as having human characteristics. Solemn contemplation is all very good in small doses but there's nothing like a good laugh with great friends, or even strangers. Interactions give meaning that is shared and even if they distract me from considering my true, free, essence of self, I'm pretty sure that I'll be better for them.

And with that I am going to turn off the computer and go out.