But the impulse to be alone is, in fact, a sign of taking other people very seriously – and is, therefore, a symptom of being properly, rather than superficially, sociable.
“Because our culture places such a high value on sociability, it can be deeply awkward to have to explain how much – at certain points – we need to be alone.
We may try to pass off our desire as something work-related: people generally understand a need to finish off a project. But in truth, it’s a far less respectable and more profound desire that is driving us on: unless we are alone, we are at risk of forgetting who we are…”
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