General detachment

Do any of you get periods where you feel detached from the rest of humanity? Times where you'd rather sit on the outside as the proverbial fly on the wall and observe people?
I experience this quite often. I actually really enjoy being an observer. Toiling over what motivates people as they go about their day. I find people to be very interesting. If I could, I would very much like to collect people's lives. Record them. Store them or display them.
Perhaps I'm just a little odd.

I don't find that very odd really ...

It is essentially the whole basis of the book "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. And yes, I'm almost constantly in that state of mind -- I just wouldn't call it "detached". We can't really disengage ourselves from humanity ; we stay 'human', as it were, and 'non-participation' is a way of 'participating' in it.

But during those periods where we just walk around in it observing, we owe it to ourselves and to everyone else (since it is after all 'a way of participating') to be very aware, to take it all in without much analysing or judging - then to synthesise something from it all and then, when we do "re-engage", to bring something beneficial back. The Hero's Journey is a solitary one, but not in the sense of South Park's Cartman, "Screw you guys, I'm goin' home !" We can retire a time from the regular hum and throb of the World in order to experience the World in another way, then we need and must come back to it, bringing to others what we've learnt.

It isn't so much of a huge revelation to make - although writing books is nice -, but just 'bearing the fruits' of one's adventures discreetly. Of "being the change" one finds necessary in the World, that is really all that it takes.

Remember, not everyone is ready to be disconnected from the Matrix ; most people depend on a complex web of illusions just for survival and they will defend it by some pretty savage means (cf. "The Matrix" and Plato's allegory of the cavern in "The Republic," book VII).

You'll find that you wouldn't want to record individual lives but find the harmony (from among the dissonance) in the relations of lives to the rest of what is going on. There is indeed a story there. An epic even ... But, recording one life would be like recording only one violin or flute during a symphony -- you wouldn't know too much about the piece by playing it back. Even less if it were the bassoon ...

So, yes ... one can understand where you are coming from. Just learn as much as you can about yourself and the relationship with humanity in the reflections of your observations, meditate (bring it all into awareness) and then bring it back to the World with you.

I like detachment the way you brought it up . Because it look like enjoyment of the moment present but without any fuss . The way I see detachment is materiel or conflict situation devolve in to haze and give the possibility to really set your self in to a perceptive other then the regular stuff .

Yes meditate but just be and out sider is good to relax and just unplug form the future , pass I really it important to say it happen to me one day i was in to a theater and they started the movie but instead I remake and observe people 's reaction it was a good time .

Orion- Thankyou- I liked that message,

http://media1.giphy.com/media/Ucvfi6Vnig6Ri/giphy.gif

And thanks Krieger for the question too!

As for my responses- Yes I sometimes feel 'detached' from the rest of humanity. Is it odd? I think you'll find plenty of 'odd' people around here in that case then,

personally i find it fascinating to watch people

whenever im in a crowd i find myself just intermittently observing for probably an hour or two

and ive never felt like i was "part" of "humanity" in any greater sense than that i am human

to quote jim morrison; "people are strange"

imo the real question is: to what extent can (and/or SHOULD) we apply detachment to our own experiences?

Even here in the TotJo forum, unless truly compelled to put forth some sort of response, I tend to just read posts and observe the responses that follow. Maybe it's a form of shyness toward strangers but i thought I had outgrown that years ago.

Rationing words is a quality of wise men.

ration them now or eat them later lol
im working on it myself!

Krieger wrote: Do any of you get periods where you feel detached from the rest of humanity? Times where you'd rather sit on the outside as the proverbial fly on the wall and observe people?

Yes but I wouldn't call that detachment. I love people watching, specially at a sidewalk cafe sipping coffee.

I experience this quite often. I actually really enjoy being an observer. Toiling over what motivates people as they go about their day. I find people to be very interesting. If I could, I would very much like to collect people's lives. Record them. Store them or display them.

Maybe you should try being an author?

Perhaps I'm just a little odd.

Perhaps not, unique, yes, enjoy your uniqueness.