I was reading Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death
This isn’t for everybody; it requires commitment, discipline, and mental stamina. You can do this on a break from school but you can’t be holding a job during it. What it essentially does is it forces you into solidarity with yourself and no distractions. Think of it as spring cleaning for your mind and soul. It’s a largely meditative process that cannot be acheived in a weekend; it takes a long period of time for you to settle down with yourself. At first, I was in a bit of a depressive state but you eventually move out of that if you are motivated. After I went through it, I knew exactly what I wanted in life and gained a fresh new passion to live and make use of my time. It helped me become more humble and come to term with difficult issues in my life. Overall, it helped me understand myself better and helped develop a life-long philosophy/goal.
Where can you isolate yourself?
I basically kept away in my house for 3 months; most of which I was in my room. If you have an extra guest room in your house, an empty garage that can be converted into a temporary room, or a cabin in the woods, these are the ideal places to retreat to.
What can you have in your room?
No TV, no computer/laptop, and no cell phone/land line. I understand that sometimes, there are emergencies so a landline hooked up to an answering machine to screen your calls is acceptable. Basically, you want as little interaction with the rest of the world as possible.
What do you do?
It will be very tempting but you cannot sleep all day. Here are some things you could do:
- Read
- Journal
- Write- anything/everything
- Meditate
Pick up Amusing Ourselves to Death
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I can see how this might be beneficial, but it always seemed to me that what sets humans apart from animals is that we are nothing without other people. What can someone who isolates him- or herself from people possibly understand about life? Life IS other people. For that reason, I think it's much better for writers to immerse themselves in society rather than withdrawing from it.
That's not just the case for writers, though. When I'm going through a really difficult period in my life, what helps is surrounding myself with love and letting the presence of people remind me that I'm not alone and that I have lots of things to live for–my family, my friends, my boyfriend. But the more I isolate myself with the goal of “working things out”, the worse I feel.
Spending a few hours a week away from people and off of the Internet is a really good thing. But three months? That's a bit ridiculous.
But of course, if it works for you, it could very well work for other people. Everyone's different.
I agree that on the flip side, one should immerse yourself with your family and friends and that the habit of living in isolation is disastrous.
I'm just arguing a case that the younger generation these days has become more and more “distracted” with the immense availability to new technology and the web. Isolation would force someone to confront real untouched issues and help them put thought into things that get muddled up in the day to day noise. Truth is, sometimes your friends/family do become distractions to these issues. Also, it's a great method of memory recall.
As a writer myself, I know that everyone has different methods when it comes to approaching their work. For me, this technique sort of…”cleared away the clutter” and helped me focus.
But as I said, this isn't for everyone. I've shared it with my friends and some have told me that they cannot commit to such a thing because they simply could not handle it. I would also think twice before advising someone with, say, depression, to go into isolation.
I agree that on the flip side, one should immerse yourself with your family and friends and that the habit of living in isolation is disastrous.
I'm just arguing a case that the younger generation these days has become more and more “distracted” with the immense availability to new technology and the web. Isolation would force someone to confront real untouched issues and help them put thought into things that get muddled up in the day to day noise. Truth is, sometimes your friends/family do become distractions to these issues. Also, it's a great method of memory recall.
As a writer myself, I know that everyone has different methods when it comes to approaching their work. For me, this technique sort of…”cleared away the clutter” and helped me focus.
But as I said, this isn't for everyone. I've shared it with my friends and some have told me that they cannot commit to such a thing because they simply could not handle it. I would also think twice before advising someone with, say, depression, to go into isolation.
Sometimes giving yourself the space to disconnect from the usual routine does help you achieve peace of mind and helps you think clearly. If that is not possible try to identify the key players in your life who encourage you to work towards your dream and take action. Check out my blog about identifying your yoda and think huge.