Anonymity

There’s something to be said for anonymity.

I’ve lived in small towns, rural areas, and urban areas. I know what it’s like to bump into 5 people you know at the local supermarket, and I know what it’s like getting lost in the crowd running to the corner drugstore. I have to say, I like getting lost in the crowd much better.

But I think that is true in every area of my life. I’ve been to small churches, and I’m currently in a very large church. I like this one much better. I don’t like running into people I know all the time. I don’t like everyone knowing my business, and somehow thinking that what goes on in my life is their problem. There are certain people I let into my “inner circle.” I trust them, and I surround myself with them, my family and friends. I don’t need a thousand other people around that know who I am. Close friendships are of enormous importance to me, but when I’m walking down the street, I have no desire to know everyone that I pass, or what their story is. I just don’t want to know.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a compassionate person. I’ve worked as a counselor for some time. I care about people…I just don’t want to be intimately connected with everyone. But, I suppose, writers are, by nature, a bit reclusive.

I think we all have some of this lurking inside of us. A frequent topic on one of my favorite podcasts is privacy in our technology. When I think of people having the ability to monitor where I go on the internet, it irritates me. I have nothing to hide, but they have no business knowing. When I think of the government being able to monitor my phone calls, I’m furious. I have nothing to hide, but they have no reason to listen. We all like our privacy. That’s why a home is such an integral part of the American dream…it’s our own place to do our own thing with no one to complain or barge in.

No matter how public we are, we need privacy. We need our own time. I just finished reading a chapter in John Ortberg’s “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” about solitude. He makes the point that we all need time every day to be alone, away from phones and faxes and email, to just meditate and be still. In our hectic lives, there’s just too much going on to make this practical, though. The “to-do” list on my Palm Pilot today was close to infinite, and it looks worse for tomorrow. Yet I have to make that time. I fear insanity for us all if we don’t take that time.

It’s critical to be quiet.