Simply Me: Considering the Birds

I had the most beautiful day yesterday. Husband and kids all went down to Fairfax & spent the night. I don't like spending the night away from home, I don't like going to Fairfax & I couldn't/wouldn't leave the dogs overnight, so I stayed home alone. I woke up on my mismatched sheets thinking how much I love my bed and my life. I spent most of the day out on the river alone in my kayak with all the wildlife. My son asked me this week what my dreams, plans and goals had been. Nothing really came to mind. It is a good feeling to realize this is pretty much it. This is good with me. To learn how to really "be where you are" instead of "what could have been". My kids are getting older, the house is almost paid off, I have my kayak and the river and dogs that I love. I love my old green chair, my books & my campfire ring in my front yard. I don't want to have more money or a career. Although I never want to stop learning, I don't want a degree or a paper to hang on the wall. I don't want to travel, this is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world to me. I value all my free time much more. I don't know what a 401k actually is, but am pretty sure I don't have one. My retirement plan is pretty much start now, grab whatever moments you can, walk lightly upon this earth, get by with as little as possible and enjoy living now. Strive a little less, live a little more. "Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires." I don't want a bigger house to take care of or a yard to mow or a pool to maintain. I don't want younger looking skin or a flat screen TV. I have an old beat up pickup truck that makes me incredibly happy cuz it hauls my boat. My goals are pretty simple... I want to see how close I can get to the white egret & the blue heron down on the river. Even that I am willing to let go of, I don't want to disturb them. My biggest problem all day long was getting unstuck from the rocks where the water was low which was nice cuz I had to work hard, got to explore the other side of the river and got in a good swim. The hawk that claims this area as his territory hung out with me yesterday, hunting & fishing. I hadn't seen him for a few weeks and had been worried about him, so was very happy to see him, like an old friend. I have missed his call in the mornings. Flocks of honking geese would fly right over me & beside me, fish jumping & splashing, turtles warming themselves in the sun. I saw two deer on the shore and got pretty close. Sometimes am tempted to wish I had a waterproof camera but then realize I don't want something else to take care of. I like the freedom of keeping the memories of the beautiful things I see to myself in my own mind. No downloading, editing, sorting, etc. The more you own, the more complicated life becomes. "Consider the birds of the air..." When I got out of the river and loaded my boat, I realized since Gaston was gone, that meant no lovely fancy dinner to come home to. Bummer. So I went and got a pack of hot dogs and built a fire & voila...delicious dinner. I am a real go-getter... as in go get her a cold beer. I didn't accomplish anything. I wasn't productive or wise. I took risks but had no goals. I didn't contribute anything to the bank account. But I went for several hours without even seeing another human & it really doesn't get any better than that. It was a simply beautiful day.

The Atlantic Monthly | March 2003

DO YOU KNOW someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?

If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?

If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you have an introvert on your hands—and that you aren't caring for him properly. Science has learned a good deal in recent years about the habits and requirements of introverts. It has even learned, by means of brain scans, that introverts process information differently from other people (I am not making this up). If you are behind the curve on this important matter, be reassured that you are not alone. Introverts may be common, but they are also among the most misunderstood and aggrieved groups in America, possibly the world.

I know. My name is Jonathan, and I am an introvert.

Oh, for years I denied it. After all, I have good social skills. I am not morose or misanthropic. Usually. I am far from shy. I love long conversations that explore intimate thoughts or passionate interests. But at last I have self-identified and come out to my friends and colleagues. In doing so, I have found myself liberated from any number of damaging misconceptions and stereotypes. Now I am here to tell you what you need to know in order to respond sensitively and supportively to your own introverted family members, friends, and colleagues. Remember, someone you know, respect, and interact with every day is an introvert, and you are probably driving this person nuts. It pays to learn the warning signs.

What is introversion? In its modern sense, the concept goes back to the 1920s and the psychologist Carl Jung. Today it is a mainstay of personality tests, including the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

How many people are introverts? I performed exhaustive research on this question, in the form of a quick Google search. The answer: About 25 percent. Or: Just under half. Or—my favorite—"a minority in the regular population but a majority in the gifted population."

Are introverts misunderstood? Wildly. That, it appears, is our lot in life. "It is very difficult for an extrovert to understand an introvert," write the education experts Jill D. Burruss and Lisa Kaenzig. (They are also the source of the quotation in the previous paragraph.) Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand, because extroverts spend so much of their time working out who they are in voluble, and frequently inescapable, interaction with other people. They are as inscrutable as puppy dogs. But the street does not run both ways. Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion. As often as I have tried to explain the matter to extroverts, I have never sensed that any of them really understood. They listen for a moment and then go back to barking and yipping.

Are introverts oppressed? I would have to say so. For one thing, extroverts are overrepresented in politics, a profession in which only the garrulous are really comfortable. Look at George W. Bush. Look at Bill Clinton. They seem to come fully to life only around other people. To think of the few introverts who did rise to the top in politics—Calvin Coolidge, Richard Nixon—is merely to drive home the point. With the possible exception of Ronald Reagan, whose fabled aloofness and privateness were probably signs of a deep introverted streak (many actors, I've read, are introverts, and many introverts, when socializing, feel like actors), introverts are not considered "naturals" in politics.

Extroverts therefore dominate public life. This is a pity. If we introverts ran the world, it would no doubt be a calmer, saner, more peaceful sort of place. As Coolidge is supposed to have said, "Don't you know that four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?" (He is also supposed to have said, "If you don't say anything, you won't be called on to repeat it." The only thing a true introvert dislikes more than talking about himself is repeating himself.)

With their endless appetite for talk and attention, extroverts also dominate social life, so they tend to set expectations. In our extrovertist society, being outgoing is considered normal and therefore desirable, a mark of happiness, confidence, leadership. Extroverts are seen as bighearted, vibrant, warm, empathic. "People person" is a compliment. Introverts are described with words like "guarded," "loner," "reserved," "taciturn," "self-contained," "private"—narrow, ungenerous words, words that suggest emotional parsimony and smallness of personality. Female introverts, I suspect, must suffer especially. In certain circles, particularly in the Midwest, a man can still sometimes get away with being what they used to call a strong and silent type; introverted women, lacking that alternative, are even more likely than men to be perceived as timid, withdrawn, haughty.

Are introverts arrogant? Hardly. I suppose this common misconception has to do with our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts. Also, it is probably due to our lack of small talk, a lack that extroverts often mistake for disdain. We tend to think before talking, whereas extroverts tend to think by talking, which is why their meetings never last less than six hours. "Introverts," writes a perceptive fellow named Thomas P. Crouser, in an online review of a recent book called Why Should Extroverts Make All the Money? (I'm not making that up, either), "are driven to distraction by the semi-internal dialogue extroverts tend to conduct. Introverts don't outwardly complain, instead roll their eyes and silently curse the darkness." Just so.

The worst of it is that extroverts have no idea of the torment they put us through. Sometimes, as we gasp for air amid the fog of their 98-percent-content-free talk, we wonder if extroverts even bother to listen to themselves. Still, we endure stoically, because the etiquette books—written, no doubt, by extroverts—regard declining to banter as rude and gaps in conversation as awkward. We can only dream that someday, when our condition is more widely understood, when perhaps an Introverts' Rights movement has blossomed and borne fruit, it will not be impolite to say "I'm an introvert. You are a wonderful person and I like you. But now please shush."

How can I let the introvert in my life know that I support him and respect his choice? First, recognize that it's not a choice. It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation.

Second, when you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you all right?"

Third, don't say anything else, either.

4 comments:

Mary said...: Is being jealous wrong? Well, then I am doing wrong. Sounds so beautiful. I want simplicity but that is so hard when you live with others who don't. Reminds me of the times at the beach fishing alone on the bay with my Dad. I get that same wonderful feeling!!; Friday, August 29, 2008
Shasta said...: Oh what a lovely day you did have!! I could totally put myself within your writing and day. I love how you look at life, it brings things in to focus for me. Reading about your days and journeys you get to take reminds me of London's writing of Alaska except your experiences are real.; Friday, August 29, 2008
Big Red Driver said...: You made me feel like I was there.; Friday, August 29, 2008
Merc said...: "Go mama, go go go!" Which is kind of an opposite phrase to this post but Travolta and Turnblad are stuck in my head so you understand.
I love you and I'm glad that you had a good day on the river and that you like your life. I hope you have many more good days as the cool fall rolls in. You should go out in winter too Ms. Alasksa! You can be like Maggie.; Sunday, August 31, 2008

Simply Me

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Considering the Birds

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