Isolation

We are alone in the sense that we are singular and independent. Loneliness itself comes from a feeling, a sense of not being embraced by others. We strive to make contacts, but often we fail at maintaining them. The flux of the universe causes things to come in and out of existence and in and out of one-another's orbits. Finding time for orbits to align can prove difficult in the sense that we can't be responsible for the actions others take.

I saw a film last night; The Martian (2015 Dr. Ridley Scott). In it was a story of extreme isolation. We have seen many films and heard many stories of people being stranded, alone and desperate, and many films have taken to this theme; 'Castaway', 'All is lost', '127 hours', 'Legend' to name a few. But the Martian took it to another level. The story focuses on a man (Matt Damon) stranded on Mars, all alone, and no-one scheduled to come to Mars for another 4 years! He was left for dead and has to use all of his faculties to stay alive. The total lack of hope and yet a positive mindset really solidified this film as a tour de force in inspirational movies. How, despite all the odds, and the set backs, and near death experiences, you can get through it if you are willing to put in the work. As Matt Damon says: 'At some point, everything's gonna go south on you... everything's going to go south and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem... and you solve the next one... and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home.'

If that doesn't inspire you to raise your head from your lap rather than fall into apit of despair, I don't know what will.

It goes to show that from pure will of determination and from taking things one step at a time, you can achieve things most people would say was impossible. In the film he was essentially left for dead for they thought he would have zero chance of survival till help arrives. It's a strange thing to be in contact with people, people with all the resources in the world, who want to help you, but can't do anything about it. Then there's the waiting game, even when en-route to rescue you, it is going to take a long time, and in that time you cannot rest in your actions or you will die. To begin with Mark Watney (Matt Damon) finds his way back to camp and works out he has around 300 sols of food available. Then he rationalises that it will take at least 600 sols for supplies to arrive. He would certainly die if he didn't take action, so the only way he could survive would be to make food – grow it on mars! After something like 567 sols he manages to kit out his vehicle to cope with days on the go, and drives for around 56 sols to get to the return rocket. From there he fired himself into space with no roof or windows or control panels (to save weight) and aimed to hit a passing spacecraft going at thousands of miles an hour! The precision and expertise of the film was not only inspirational but also overwhelming. A breed of people so in control it wakes you up to your lack of it.

We each need to find our adventure, I just hope it isn't as hopeless as this one, and hope that we can find the strength to get through it.