“What’s the opposite of love? Is it hate?” she wondered. No matter how hard she wanted to she couldn’t bring herself to hate them. Nor could she truly wish them ill. Something about hate didn’t feel right to her.
What was it she felt then? Hurt? That was a given. Misunderstood? Yes, that too. Angry at the injustice? Most certainly.
In the past she had felt love, loyalty and a sense of duty towards them. But this new feeling she struggled to identify.
And then it struck her. This new feeling it was indifference. Like they didn’t really matter anymore.
For a passionate woman like her, indifference was really hard. But perhaps, that was the only way to survive?
As she began to look around, she noticed more and more that people, so wrapped up in their own worlds, seemed indifferent to a lot of what went on around them.
She watched children lost in their own world, not even reaching out to another child who had fallen. People walking on the road refusing to make eye contact with others.
She observed people engaging in seemingly meaningless conversations. She encountered people, who refused to go deeper in their conversations with her. Perhaps, meaningful and deep conversations made them vulnerable and they would start to experience deeper emotions.
Indifference doesn’t make you feel vulnerable. It acts as a shield – keeping you from being hurt and misunderstood.
Do you think that indifference is the way to prevent oneself from hurt? Inlinkz Link Party– Elie Wiesel
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
I think this is true. If you don’t care, then you won’t get hurt. Hate is every bit as passionate as love. Good one, Corinne! Third person POV is a good style when talking about personal feelings, events, etc. that I’ve also used before. It allows for a certain amount of emotional detachment from the subject.
This is such an amazing take on this quote! Yes, if you hate people, you’re still affected by them in a similar way as when you love them, but when you’re indifferent, you stop feeling.
True, being indifferent will help us to survive in today’s world because a strong emotion cannot be countered by another strong emotion.
I think indifference is the wall people build around themselves, to keep themselves from becoming victims of judgements or vulnerability. I think people are becoming more self-centred, caring only about themselves, not wanting to let the world into their hearts. I may be mistaken, because there are also those who have the largest hearts ever…and who go beyond the call of their duty to care for their fellow human beings.
I think we need to be indifferent at times to protect us against a lot of emotional upheavals, whereas being passionate about each and everything is exhausting at times.
Indifference can shield us from negativity, I agree, and the fear of not pushing the self. A beautifully worded story.