Shengliver’s Note: Humans are social beings. To maintain sanity, we have to strike a balance between sociality and seclusion. Company is found not only in face-to-face interaction but also in reading and reflection.

 

As a sage says, one who enjoys solitude is mentally tough.

I used to be in the crowd all the time. I did not have the guts to be alone, for I thought I might be considered an outcast. Therefore, I suffered a lot from that mind-set. Sometimes, something was not that funny, but I was conditioned to feign a smile to mask my real emotion, making people believe that I was as happy as others of the herd. Although happiness was found on my face, my inner feeling was otherwise.

One day I decided to break away from the herd. I would go to the canteen and eat alone. Walking along Culture Walk, I got lost in my inner world. My mind was roaming as freely as the wind caressing my face, nothing to interrupt my train of thought. The sky was azure and the clouds white. All of a sudden, I noticed a lot of things that I had failed to see. That feeling was great.

At the canteen, I got a meal and took a seat away from the usual herd. Amidst the hubbub of the dining hordes, I felt all alone, enjoying each and every mouthful. That feeling was great.

Since then, I have had breakfast on my own. The free-thinking which the newly-found solitude brings forth helps me to find solutions to thorny problems and to muse over what kind of life I will be living in the future. Physically around me, a new friendship is probably budding. Hormones might be bringing two sweethearts closer together. A hot kiss is going on. Despite it all, I am immersed in my meditation, which helps clarify a lot of issues I have been wrestling with.

Thanks to my private little inner world, I can examine myself. Hence, I end up with a balanced picture of people and things around.