 The Interest on Money Accrues Loneliness
I already know from old Turkish movies that money brings loneliness. It is true that
Turkey does not have a well-developed economy, which must means none of us must be lonely!
And this may be true to a certain extent. While loneliness may increase in big cities, we
have always been warm people. At least we are warmer than people in many other European
countries.
For centuries, the Turkish people have nurtured opportunities to meet with friends and
family. All of the ritual religious holidays are a chance to develop stronger
relationships between each other. Obviously, they are nice ceremonies which give people a
chance to see relatives they have not seen for awhile and for people, who may offended one
another, to make peace. What's more, we Turks have strong relationships with each other,
as well as being hospitable to foreigners. So I do not agree with the adage, "the
friend of a Turk is another Turk." We have the ability to meet any kind of person.
The warmth of Turkish people captures the people who visit Turkey just for holiday, who
then fall in love with Turkish guys and stay. Why? Because of the intimacy and the feeling
of possession that Turkish people create! No European guy could make someone feel that
familiar and close that they end up marrying each other in only a few days!
Turkish people want to have no boundaries between each other. Unlike Europeans, we are not
as individualistic and we both face and ask questions easily, as we feel we have a right
to ask and criticize every one around us. Being away from individualistic societies
creates intimacy, as you stopping worrying about whether or not you are bothering anyone.
We are like open books! The warmth of our blood comes from being nomadic for centuries in
order to feed ourselves. I don't know if any countries have the kind of cooperative
communities that exist in our villages, where people help each other if someone has
trouble, even in 21st century.
As a society with many morals and ethics, we feel responsible for the actions of others.
Though this can be annoying at time, just think, the whole country is with you! Your
neighbors, your friends, the people on the bus, the people who you have never met,
everyone is like your family!
There are other religious and geographic reasons, which account for us being warm and
intimate people, but the most important one is our economy. In Switzerland, one of the
richest countries in the world, there are more than 1 million people living alone. That is
a huge number, if I remind you that the population of the whole country is 7.5 million!
The independence that money brings isolates people. The popular Swiss banks yield a high
interest of loneliness! According to the website, www.parship.ch, Swiss people who live
alone, move back to their families' houses or apply to matchmaking web sites. What about
the others? As you all know, loneliness can cause suicide, which also clarifies why the
rates of suicides are higher in Western countries than in the East!
Many eastern philosophies came out of poverty and a poorly developed economy. As a result,
theories of how to achieve a happy, peaceful and non-material life are central to many
eastern philosophies. For instance in Asia, they all have a commendable connection to life
and people. The Turkish philosophy is one of intimacy. It will never leave us feeling
apart and we are all consistently active members of society! So what do people in other
countries do? Those people who want to be away from the stress of big cities and
loneliness? They apply to Yoga courses in order to find peace, a different point of view
and to meet new people.
Gülay Acar (COMD/IV)
howtoreachgulay@yahoo.com
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