When you live alone, there's no one to say, "You should really see a doctor about that", or, "Why don't you buy yourself a new pair of shoes?", or even, "You have to prioritise your tax return at the moment, forget about the other stuff until you've done it." All you get are demands from the outside world – often conflicting demands.
Originally posted by I_ArtMan:how true. i have been trying to do things for my own good and keep on postponing them. like doctors and dentists etc. if i had someone here they would urge me to remember. they would push me out the door. One of my fillings fell out in April or May (I think I swallowed it), and there’s a large cavity there that I still haven’t done anything about. It sounds like this kind of thing might not be uncommon when living alone. I should probably put it in my notebook to use in a story some time. Funny I haven’t heard this aspect of a solitary life described much, or at all, in fact.I can understand why people used to have servants and so on, though I’d feel very uncomfortable actually paying anyone to look after me and do stuff for me – it would be much more morally acceptable to have them do it for free.
And I can’t pay, anyway.
how true. i have been trying to do things for my own good and keep on postponing them. like doctors and dentists etc. if i had someone here they would urge me to remember. they would push me out the door. still searching for self discipline. it just seems that i only want to do what i want to do. and i can get away with it.
aye, that’s the ‘rub’. but harking back to days of servants… for sure it would be a great advantage. mainly because they would remind you… even a personal secretary would have to keep records… everything takes time and i want my time to concentrate. always feeling like there are a hundred things i should be doing. but going on with what i do freely.i think you’re right about it not being generally known that single people can’t take care of themselves very well.
Anonymous writes:Karl here. the greatest work of fictional solitude, to my mind, is Pessoa’s ‘The Book of Disquiet’, a record of the impressions and daydreams of a confirmed bachelor. It’s a beautiful, haunting masterpiece. Check it out.
Originally posted by I_ArtMan:aye, that’s the ‘rub’. but harking back to days of servants… for sure it would be a great advantage. mainly because they would remind you… even a personal secretary would have to keep records… everything takes time and i want my time to concentrate. always feeling like there are a hundred things i should be doing. but going on with what i do freely.I need a PA. I can’t organise myself. It’s driving me mad. Of course, eventually we will reach the edge of the grave, and from there one can turn back and say, “Can’t catch me now!” But someone has told me, maliciously, that there are still forms to fill out on the other side.Originally posted by anonymous:Karl here. the greatest work of fictional solitude, to my mind, is Pessoa’s ‘The Book of Disquiet’, a record of the impressions and daydreams of a confirmed bachelor. It’s a beautiful, haunting masterpiece. Check it out.I have it. It’s on my bookshelf here. I’ve dipped in a little, but haven’t properly started it yet.
Karl writes:I also feel obliged to mention Rousseau’s “Reveries of a Solitary Walker”, another great hymn to solitude, although marked by a relentless paranoia about imagined or real conspiracies being waged against him by the outside world.
Originally posted by quentinscrisp:that there are still forms to fill out on the other side.that must be the ‘other’ otherside.i think i have to rely on an organic method of priorities combined with efforts made while exhausted.
Walter writes:I can tell you – having a wife doesn’t mean you get pushed to do things. Lisa and me both need to see the dentist and neither of us are pushing the other to do so.
Originally posted by I_ArtMan:i think i have to rely on an organic method of priorities combined with efforts made while exhausted.I have one, but it doesn’t work very well for me, certainly not without stress.Originally posted by anonymous:I can tell you – having a wife doesn’t mean you get pushed to do things. Lisa and me both need to see the dentist and neither of us are pushing the other to do so. Ah, I think if I were in a position to, I would probably push someone to push me. Anyway, my motivation to end my solitude is somewhat reduced.