> The Paradox of Our Existence​

> USA

>HONOURABLE MENTION

Team Members:

​
​
​
Michelle Antonorsi

As human beings we are alone. Our lives are ours and ours alone. I only see what my eyes see and feel what my fingers touch. I only know what it is to be me and can only wonder what it is to be you. There is a melancholic note to this realization. However, while our experience may be singular, our perception individual, we experience this collectively. Together alone; that is the paradox.

We are alone, yet we have an uncontrollable urge not to be. We have an innate need to connect, to socialize, to befriend, to love, to share our experiences. It is this discomfort and unease with aloneness that feeds the plague of loneliness. How is it that at the peak of our interconnected world loneliness prevails, more than ever? It is because we have forgotten, denied, and even feared the very essence of our existence.

We have confused loneliness with aloneness. But aloneness is a gift. It is endless possibilities, it is latent potentials, it is space for creativity. It allows us to explore the sound of silence and the taste of time. It is in the space between every breath and in the blurred vision of our peripheries. It is an open invitation to know and to love ourselves.

It is the paradox of our existence. Together alone and alone together, for we may feel lonely when we have the most company, and we may not feel lonely when we are absolutely alone. This is because loneliness surges from an unfulfilled need to bond with another. But it is impossible to bond without first accepting aloneness and embracing it for the gift that it is. So to combat loneliness learn to be alone, and learn to love it. Learn to love yourself, before you love another.

So what is it? It is a temple. A space for solitude and contemplation. A space for rituals. A space for reflection and meditation. A space for self-discoveries. A space to reconnect with our true selves (our forgotten inner children) space to get in touch with our senses. A space to shed the constraints and expectations of society. A space to know yourself.

But ultimately it is a bathroom.