When you spend a lot of time around other people, you're not really alone until you're alone for a while.
Lets say you have a day to yourself with no obligations to see coworkers or friends. No meetings, no dates. You'll notice that the first few hours of this time will be spent in an odd limbo with the subconscious expectation of imminent company. The thoughts that occur to you will skitter around rather than sink in.
This is a problem because it makes it difficult to actually reach a state that feels like solitude (in the best sense). If you mistake the limbo period for the feeling of being alone, you're apt to lunge out of it and text someone, last minute, to make a plan. Don't do this. Wait a while. The feeling of being alone is not at all a frenetic one, nor an unsatisfying one; you just have to push a bit to get there.
Excerpt from:
Troubleshooting
Bye Molly Young and Chris Luxton
Image by:
2007
