21 Escaping Isolation and Loneliness

“Leave me alone!” This is the curse we cast on ourselves.

Solitary confinement is the greatest punishment we enforce in many of our societies. We did away with torture and most capital punishment. So now we make people sit alone in cages.

But guess what? Many, many of us sit alone in well appointed cages of our own making and our own choosing. We buy our isolation in 4000 square foot homes, with smart phones and social media, and an increasingly caustic civil society where people resist, riot, and shout no at each other all day long. 

Wealth, institutions, public schools, corporations, and the pursuit of success all contribute to increased isolation and loneliness in our culture and society.

We can escape isolation by valuing relationships and sharing time, hospitality, and meaningful experiences together.