These thoughts about intellectual loneliness were the first thing I saw on Gab this morning. I knew I had to keep a copy of it here.
So accurate it’s almost painful.
“Intellectual loneliness isn’t about wanting ‘deep talks.’ It’s about realising how few people can tolerate complexity. It’s noticing how quickly people rush to have an answer not to understand, but to feel right. It’s watching people form entire world views off headlines, vibes, and whatever reels told them last. It’s the silence that follows when you say something that doesn’t fit neatly into someone’s script. It’s not arrogance. It’s exhaustion from always having to code-switch between what you actually think and what’s safe to say around people who shut down at nuance. And no one warns you: Once your brain learns to stretch, small talk doesn’t just bore you, it alienates you. You’re not looking for smart people. You’re looking for people who are still thinking.
This is so true! And painful. There is such as disconnect when you respond with the truth to people. You are far beyond me in what you present in some areas. But I (and others on this platform) still want to think and come to conclusions.
Thank you!
All the non-thinkers self-selected out of following my website a long time ago. LOL!
I daily seek out thinkers and learners who are beyond me in understanding all kinds of topics. I can’t imagine living any other way.
Sallie
Ouch! Yes, so true. The deeper we think, the lonelier we are. And then it gets more frustrating to listen to surfacey-small talk, ignorant responses, and simplistic pat answers or parroted arguments that someone hasn’t thought through for themselves, especially when you know they’re just reacting to a snippet or soundbite they saw/heard online.
Everyone just reacts nowadays to tiny fragments of something they heard or read. They don’t respond thoughtfully to the whole story. It’s discouraging and exhausting. And it feels quite pointless to jump into it and share your opinion.
[I think this partly relates to Christianity, too. I once said something similar about those of us who seek a deeper relationship with God, who want to explore and talk about the more serious, confusing, deeper spiritual truths: “The closer we walk with God, the lonelier it gets. The higher we climb in faith, in our journey to God, the less people climbing that high, too.”
It seems to me that there are so few Christians who want to walk that closely with Him too or climb that high in their journey to Him. Most seem content to stay at the surface-level, parked on the side of the road of faith, doing just enough to make sure that they’re happy and fulfilled (in an earthly sense).
They want enough of God to be happy, but not enough that He makes them uncomfortable, disrupts their lives, or changes their plans.
And so it gets lonely when we want to dig in deep and pursue Him aggressively, when we want to get real and raw and messy as we grapple with the deeper or confusing things, the doubts and questions, the nitty-gritty.
Most people don’t want to get that messy. They don’t want to have their happy, simple, theological views disrupted or complicated.
But the longer I’ve walked with God, the more I learn that faith can be really messy. As we answer one question, more questions and doubts pop up. And this can be hard.
But the more we stick with it and work through these things, the more we learn that – even when we can’t trust anything else, or even ourselves – we can trust Him and His Word, even when our faith no longer fits into all the nice, neat, clearly-labeled, tied-up-with-a-bow boxes that we wanted it to fit into.]
Anyway, I digress. But thanks for sharing that quote. It’s nice to know that those of us who are tired of it all are not alone. 🙂
Hi Heather,
I realize this is a few months old. I hope you see my reply.
You wrote:
“Most people don’t want to get that messy. They don’t want to have their happy, simple, theological views disrupted or complicated.”
This is so true. Any time you attempt to talk to people about theological ideas outside the accepted paradigm, things can get dicey (or icy!) really quick.
I think the fear of “falling away” during the “end times” has been obsessively taught so often that many Christians are afraid to consider if they might be wrong about anything theological. Even issues that aren’t top level, salvation issues. It’s all about hanging on until the rapture and not stirring a step that might lead you to “fall away” and miss out.
But it’s a paralyzing fear for so many and leaves them unable to grow.
Thank you for your comment!
Sallie