Sometimes a post title just reaches right into your introverted soul: The Pleasure of Being Left Alone.
Advertise here with Carbon Ads
This site is made possible by member support. ❤️
Big thanks to Arcustech for hosting the site and offering amazing tech support.
When you buy through links on kottke.org, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks for supporting the site!
kottke.org. home of fine hypertext products since 1998.
Comments 3
This incredible opening paragraph has been lingering in my mind:
I wonder: is a "return to solitude" possible in the modern world? Even with most notifications turned off, I get dozens (or sometimes hundreds) of unrequested messages in my work and personal life every day.
One one hand, I'm grateful that people seem to want to talk to me about things. On the other hand, the expectation of a thoughtful reply makes "a return to solitude" feel impossible. Yet-to-be-sent replies are crowding out my own inner monologues. Guilt about not replying weighs heavy. If I reply rapidly, it seems to just lead to more messages. I desire the solitude this article describes, but worry about it's achievability.
If (lately; when) I wake in the middle of the night, my mind begins to play clips from the previous day. I keep a sleep home screen setup to record any actions, which helps.
I attended a 10 day Vipassana course once, and though I don’t practise it (I should) it’s the best thing I’ve found.
I finished that first paragraph and went from “it me” to sending it to my significant other as introvert love poetry.
Hello! In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions that you have installed on your browser...sometimes they can interfere with the Memberful links. Still having trouble? Email me!
In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. Check out your options for renewal.
This is the name that'll be displayed next to comments you make on kottke.org; your email will not be displayed publicly. I'd encourage you to use your real name (or at least your first name and last initial) but you can also pick something that you go by when you participate in communities online. Choose something durable and reasonably unique (not "Me" or "anon"). Please don't change this often. No impersonation.
Note: I'm letting folks change their display names because the membership service that kottke.org uses collects full names and I thought some people might not want their names displayed publicly here. If it gets abused, I might disable this feature.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
Hello! In order to leave a comment, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions that you have installed on your browser...sometimes they can interfere with the Memberful links. Still having trouble? Email me!