Youth, happiness and the illusion of independence

Not long ago, people lived within big, extended families. Houses were bigger, ceilings were higher and kitchens were always filled with pleasing aromas, ready to churn out appetizing dishes.
Big elementary stoves and ovens made out of simple materials were usually located outside in countries where the weather allowed for it.
The cooking was very slow, as it allowed enough time for the aromas to intermingle and merge for a richer, more natural taste.
With time, we gradually started trading all that for the illusion of independence, and sophistication. We also became enomoured of the idea of being alone, having our own space, and our own life.
Isolation breeds vulnerability, anguish, and fear. We start feeling detached from our roots, abandoned, and less secure.
We became the easy target of marketing campaigns that promise us a semblance of security and comfort at a rather steep price.
We started buying random inanimate objects to fill our houses, hoping to fill out the self-created void that deepened inside our hearts.
In the early days, male youths temporarily left their family nest, went on long pilgrimages, to discover the world, engage in commerce and build a good foundation for their future selves.
At the end of this formative period, they would go back to the family nest, get married and resume their usual life among their loved ones.
When people live together, there is always someone to talk to after a hard day at work, there is always a patient ear to listen to our worries, and concerns.
There is always something cooking, and either a mother, a grandmother, or an aunt hunched over the stove.
Our clothes are cleaned, folded, and neatly stacked by magical invisible hands.
Kids always have an uncle, a cousin, or a niece to play with, instead of being attached to a cold device, or being cared for by a paid stranger. Boredom and loneliness are diluted in the gatherings of families, where stories are shared around steamy food and refreshing drinks.
The rising number of psychological disorders, the consumption of antidepressants, and mood stabilizing medication stem mainly from disassociation from our families. We become like a withering flower that has been uprooted and seperated from its nourishing land, to be isolated in an artificial, glassy vase like an ostracized pariah.
The rapid pace of life that made the independence of individuals a virtue to be celebrated and sought with ardor and vigor.
Our body is a part of a bigger social entity. Forcing it into segregated air-tight capsule detached from the rest is only going to nourish and exacerbate the ills of our times, depression, stress and the subtle, ever-present feeling of gnawing, deep discontent.