[One Thousand Characters a Day] Until the Last Day of Life＜5＞

Editor's NoteNot knowing what loneliness is because there is no time to be lonely means continuing to push oneself into a state of ignorance. A state of ignorant selflessness. The most important moments in life arise when we are alone. All sensual experiences?eating, excreting, being born, dying?are like this. Meditation teacher Hong Shin-ja says, "Put your phone away for a moment, and let us all focus on the present moment before our eyes." She advises us to observe how everything proceeds honestly at an honest pace. Furthermore, she teaches us to reach the fundamental question beyond solitude?the fear of death. If you are not afraid to die, what else could you possibly fear? Word count: 931.

Solitude is not an absolutely negative emotion. It is simply one of many emotions, a kind of experience. It is of the same kind as anger or crying. An emotion naturally felt as a human being. So rather than trying to escape it, it is enough to simply observe it without fear. The most important thing is not to flounder in solitude. This is also the basic attitude of meditation. When solitude finds a way to enter me, I observe it, and as I keep observing, solitude quickly evaporates and disappears.

I now tend to love the feeling of solitude. Solitude is a form close to silence, and through silence, we find answers ourselves. Whether we are free depends on what those answers are. I hope everyone recognizes the true value of solitude. Only when there is time spent alone can one truly reflect on oneself. Moreover, one must realize that life inevitably involves solitude. There is no person born into this world who has never been lonely. All of this may feel like one huge process, but in reality, life is nothing special. Ultimately, everything begins and ends with me. Fully feeling the given time and the given emotions is the freest way to enjoy the present. Feeling the taste, sensation, and texture of being solitary, lonely, and lonesome, observing how they differ from each other, and enjoying that time is also a part of life.

The most unfortunate thing is that modern people have no time to feel solitude, loneliness, or lonesomeness. Having no time to contemplate oneself without relying on anything is akin to living without a self. And at the center of this is the great obstacle called the cellphone.

Watching people these days makes me think of their final moments. Perhaps at the last moment, even when placed in a coffin, they might still be clutching their cellphone.

- Hong Shin-ja, Until the Last Day of Life, Dasan Books, 17,500 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.