Monday morning. New week. Grey skies and gloomy atmosphere with stormy winds. As sun was not out, I thought of taking a walk. There were couples, elderly seniors, there were “runners”, dog parents taking them for their walks.

One of the joggers was a young woman in tight smallest shorts and a tank top. She looked “sexy” even for a straight woman. I wondered what is it that making me jealous of hers, whether its the body or not. But as I dig deep, I realize its the youth, the curvy body blessed for women at that age, and the mindset to ignore what others would think of her and following her heart. Somethings which we miss or regret when we think about the past.

There were couples who kept on talking with each other, stealing their couple time and also exercise in their routine. My mind wandered to a twitter thread (https://x.com/TylerAlterman/status/1925904045488660688) that talked of romantics who believed in power of community as not being reliable. There was an accusatory tone in the thread. Though I agree we (myself considering one of the romantics) are weak, the negative connotation didn’t sit down with me well. The post glorified pragmatic people and the independent ones compared to us, the romantics. I thought we always needed a balance in us. Both romanticism and pragmatism. So maybe the post did hurt my ego and is reacting to it. Or it maybe also a sign that I need to stop my daydreaming and revive my practical side, and do the actions which I have been delaying because of this dream of having friends and community of which I yearn to be part of.

By romantics in the post, I assumed they are talking of people who want to live in a dreamy ideal world connecting to people and forming a community without its hurdles and gaining only the perks. And not the actual romanticsm as in wiki history where they give much importance to individualism and live like a hippie indulged in arts and other streams. I have seen in other generic twitter posts as well where in people admire strong willed introverted people for being independent and not relying on others or who doesn’t work towards belonging in a community.

And then I see the elderly people walking all alone. In some strange flats which they were not part of in their early years. Some very active in the bubble of religion and politics while others with no respite from the end. What do they yearn for? If not for company and the small talk. They did isolate working for too long, earning bread and butter, and now they are having the luscious grand breakfast alone or with the help of a nurse, and some even can’t eat much or enjoy because of age restrictions. Another tweet quoted Nietzsche saying overworking as modern vice. I would not term it as vice as sometimes overworking maybe necessary, but the key point is enjoying life. If those who spend life devoting to work could also make time to enjoy life, making relationships and community that makes you not isolated in the older age, its worth it. Is it not possible to bring about this balance and revel in romanticism than isolating themselves, and achieving success in other professional fields apart from personal life?