Why do so many intelligent and earnest individuals seek solitude? Why were so many of history’s greatest intellectuals, sages, leaders, inventors and artists lonesome and pensive? Perhaps, in part, because they realized that it was only by leaving the common run of thought that they could transcend it. Maybe they saw what no one else did, even if dimly and briefly, and felt that the possibility of that greater something was worth more than the comradery of the conventionally-minded.

 Only by taking seriously and heeding the call of your instincts will you ever attain to the rich, unique individuality you’re capable of. Submission to the jeers and judgments of others, to the popular sentiment, will inevitably sidetrack you from fully understanding and developing your own nature. To the extent that your individual nature is discordant with your cultural milieu, this will be a lonely and frustrating road, but it will also be a fruitful one.

 We cannot find what most people miss by living as most people do. The lonesome, pensive phase of our journey may prove the most important, for during this time we slowly discover who we are and who we should like to become. In isolation we grant our own voice and vision the space and permission to grow. It’s true we learn much of ourselves by interacting with others, but a wholesome integration of individual and society is quite impossible absent those crucial spells of solitude.