Individuality in the collective
Human beings are, by nature, a tribal bunch. In order to survive in a hostile and predator rich environment, early human survival depended not only on strength and intelligence, but on the ability to fit into a tribe that offered protection, nourishment, structure and boundaries. And for thousands of years, that’s how humankind shuffled along, discovering the usefulness of fire, the wheel, steam power and electricity along the way. I assume that individuality was always a factor too – that there were plenty of cave children rebelling against their cave parents, and that there were always those in the tribe who tested the boundaries of safety and convention, who looked up at the stars and dared to believe that they were a part of something much bigger than a society focused on survival of the fittest. So it’s really no wonder that even after thousands and thousands of years of evolution, we are still fundamentally beings that not only enjoy, but need to be in the company of others.
And then there are those that don’t quite fit the norm of the tribe, the non-conformers, creative leaders, great thinkers, great doers, as well as the destructive leaders, thinkers and doers. Stand out and stick your head above the tribe and someone will try to shoot it off – keep your head too low in the tribe and someone will step on it. We humans like average. Anything too out of the ordinary, going either way, is considered different and dangerous. And as much as we like to celebrate the different and dangerous, we also like to destroy it, bring it back into line and make it average.
I consider myself to be a unique, independent individual that takes responsibility for my thoughts and actions and that co-exists within a greater whole. But although I am an individual, a separate being from other people, there is something unseen but very much felt that binds me to every other person. A feeling that this single self that I am, that every thought and action I take, somehow affects not only me but every other person around me. I think this is one of those universal truths that each of us understands intrinsically – we can never be truly independent, separate or alone. So why is it that loneliness and isolation lie at the heart of most major psychological disorders today, with worldwide depression, anxiety and suicide rates climbing and so many people expressing a sense of being disconnected, detached and alone. I believe that when we lose our sense of self, we also lose our sense of connection to others and that brings pain and suffering.
It is the experience brought about by interacting with others that makes life meaningful. Without that interaction, we would be solitary beings with no challenge other than basic survival to keep us occupied. Humans have never been satisfied with simple basic survival. We have always got bored, got interested, got inquisitive, desired betterment from what currently is, dreamed, created, destroyed then created again. So perhaps the answer to perceived separateness is to embrace our creativity, revel in expansion, excitement, fear, success and failure, and understand that we’re all on the same rollercoaster, sometimes at the at the peak and others in the trough. But it’s a lot more fun when we do it together. r
