"I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."
-Henry David Thoreau
"It is far better to be alone than to wish you were."
-Ann Landers
"All of our unhappiness comes from our inability to be alone."
-Jean de la Bruyere
Maybe it's because I have been subject to more inquiries about my dating status this week than I have been in my entire life up to this point, but this week the topic of aloneness has been on my mind.
I love being alone. I really do. I need time alone every single day - if I don't get it, I go insane. And the more that I think about it, the more that I conclude that our culture tries to program us never, ever to be alone. We assume that so-called "loners" must have something wrong with them. For some reason we as a collective society seem to believe that there is something awful about having nothing but your own thoughts as your companion. I often wonder if that says something about the quality or content of our thoughts.
Friday, October 19, 2007
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2 comments:
Boy due I understand your feelings on being alone. I have always wonder why we spend so much time arranging getting together in groups.
asglengolf
the interesting thing is that with the advent of instant messaging, I rarely find myself completely alone. When my computer isn't on, and I'm home on my own, my phone is off - I don't know that I could handle it. Not being in constant contact with someone, or the possibility of being in contact is a very interesting thing, and one that I've thought quite a bit about. I'd agree - society is pushing us to be with people all the time. But some of that stems from people's abilities to be alone (introverts) and those who do need to be around people (extroverts) interesting stuff nonetheless.
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