In my estimation nothing that life offers us makes sense unless we share our life with the rest of the human race, with whom we can build a life filled with happiness obliging us to compromise, learning from others that an harmonious life can only be developed through respect for those whom we treasure for their meaningful involvement in our life.
John Donne's words are metaphorical assisting the reader to understand that none can thrive divorced from other people. Donne's poetic words are symptomatic of the human being's absolute need to relate to other people as a means to discover more of who we are becoming.
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
Way, way back in my primary school days I read "Robinson Crusoe" anticipating understanding something of what it would be like to live on a desert island remote from the rest of humanity. I also appreciated that the experience of living on a desert island, alone would be the only tangible way of making any sense of Daniel Defoe's character's exposure to life living alone on a desert island.
Robinson Crusoe becomes self-sufficient learning how to cope with his aloneness, discovering ingenuity he didn't know he had. It is transparent that being separated from society leads to Robinson becoming self sufficient. Thus Crusoe's isolation reveals abilities that enable him not only to survive, but to capitalise on his solitude and prosper.
Robinson Crusoe's individualism is inseparable from his isolation there being an awareness on his part that he is developing his true self by living apart from other human beings. This reality was not his choice, rather his willingness to make the best of his circumstances.
Daniel Defoe's novel values individuality, but also demonstrates the risks of narcissism that can emerge from isolation, when separated from the rest of the human race.
The arrival on his desert island of "Friday" changed Robinson Crusoe's perspective of what it is to relate face, to face with another human person after many years of living alone. Here we enter the realm of a resourceful "hero" revealed through the life of a castaway eventually welcoming the companionship of another human being.
Relationships are the foundation of human happiness leading to joy, and satisfaction when recognising that every human person is worthy of our friendship, by enabling us to transform our understanding of what it means to become happy, and fulfilled despite facing moments when not all will go well, when passing storms wreck havoc on our dreams leading us to improvise, thereby coping admirably with life's invitation to remain flexible when faced with life changing challenges requiring the explorer to reach into their inner life seeking answers that will resolve the apparently insolvable dilemma.
Literature reaching back thousands of years is filled with hero narratives that speak to the human being caught up in a storm not of their choosing, being obliged to listen to the inspiration that bubbles to the surface from within their inner self guiding them out of harm's way into calmer waters.
Our Saviour invites us to ask for His help whenever our troubles appear to overwhelm our capacity to cope with, and endure knowing that He will provide us with a path that will enable us to exit our trials, prospering from all that our distress teaches us to rely upon the friendship of our greatest friend.
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” ~C.S. Lewis
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