I was an only child and used to being on my own. As a child and teenager I was often lonely. This hurts from the inside because I yearned for company like most young people. However, I soon accepted what I couldn’t change and this was the first step towards coming to terms with the situation - not to fight reality but to embrace it. With God’s help I learned to enjoy my own company. Solitude is not a threat - instead it creates space to be who one is and puts a whole different perspective on life - life is worth living.
Thank you for sharing something so personal. It takes a lot of strength to turn something that once caused pain into a place of peace. I'm really glad the article resonated with your journey, and I hope it reminds others that solitude can become a source of strength rather than something to fear.
The problem with Jeff Bezos’ ideology is that it rests on a false premise.
The idea that “six thousand years ago someone invented the plow” assumes that ancient humans operated as isolated individuals.
They didn’t.
Early human societies were fundamentally collectivist. Knowledge, survival, and innovation were shared processes not individual breakthroughs. The notion that a single person “invented” something as transformative as the plow is not just unlikely. it misunderstands how human progress actually works.
Archaeological evidence shows that for hundreds of thousands of years, humans gathered in communal spaces around fires, within tribes, across generations exchanging ideas, solving problems collectively, and passing down shared knowledge.
The plow itself did not emerge from one mind in one place.
It appeared independently across multiple regions Mesopotamia, Egypt, Europe, East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa. This phenomenon, known as parallel development, reflects a fundamental truth:
Innovation is collective.
Believing in a lone genius inventor is no different than believing one person invented language. It is a myth a projection of modern individualistic values onto deeply social, cooperative past societies.
This is presentism.
And it distorts history.
Social learning not isolated brilliance was the engine of human evolution. It is how we survived, adapted, and advanced.
The “myth of the genius” is not just historically flawed. it serves a modern purpose.
It provides a convenient narrative to justify extreme wealth concentration and inequality, framing success as the product of singular brilliance rather than collective systems, shared knowledge, and societal infrastructure.
think this is also why solitude and loneliness aren't the same thing. We are shaped by others and by the collective, but we also need moments alone to reflect, integrate, and return to that collective more intentionally. Solitude doesn't reject connection. it deepens our capacity for it.
Writing by hand is my version of this. No autocorrect, no notifications, no suggestions. Just the page and whatever is actually in the thinking. The first few lines of any session are usually just clearing the backlog, exactly as described here. What comes after is where the real work lives. Seneca was right that it is a philosophical problem, not a social one. You cannot think clearly inside a life you have never been willing to sit with quietly.
I really like that perspective. Writing by hand creates a kind of solitude that's hard to find elsewhere. It's amazing how much clarity appears once the noise settles and you're simply left alone with your own thoughts. Thanks for sharing this.
I love this, and really appreciate the clear distinction between the two experiences of solitude and loneliness because I agree that they are often confused.
The practice of solitude sounds similar to the Buddhist practice of sense restraint. Would you consider it a form of meditation, even if informal (i.e. no particular ritual or posture around it)?
I think solitude gives us that space. The feeling arrives on its own, but when we spend time alone with it instead of immediately reacting, we often discover we have more choice than we first thought. That's where clarity begins.
Thank you! I'm so glad it resonated. It's amazing how often solitude is mistaken for loneliness. I hope the article helps put that difference into words.
“It’s what you do with what you find out”
yes exactly, Solitude teaches us what really matters
I was an only child and used to being on my own. As a child and teenager I was often lonely. This hurts from the inside because I yearned for company like most young people. However, I soon accepted what I couldn’t change and this was the first step towards coming to terms with the situation - not to fight reality but to embrace it. With God’s help I learned to enjoy my own company. Solitude is not a threat - instead it creates space to be who one is and puts a whole different perspective on life - life is worth living.
Thank you for sharing something so personal. It takes a lot of strength to turn something that once caused pain into a place of peace. I'm really glad the article resonated with your journey, and I hope it reminds others that solitude can become a source of strength rather than something to fear.
Solitude-Aloneness is not Loneliness. There’s a huge difference.💜
Yes, you seem to understand it well.
What a wholesome essay 🙏🏼✨ thanks a lot for your beautiful words!
Our pleasure. I am glad you loved it
The problem with Jeff Bezos’ ideology is that it rests on a false premise.
The idea that “six thousand years ago someone invented the plow” assumes that ancient humans operated as isolated individuals.
They didn’t.
Early human societies were fundamentally collectivist. Knowledge, survival, and innovation were shared processes not individual breakthroughs. The notion that a single person “invented” something as transformative as the plow is not just unlikely. it misunderstands how human progress actually works.
Archaeological evidence shows that for hundreds of thousands of years, humans gathered in communal spaces around fires, within tribes, across generations exchanging ideas, solving problems collectively, and passing down shared knowledge.
The plow itself did not emerge from one mind in one place.
It appeared independently across multiple regions Mesopotamia, Egypt, Europe, East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa. This phenomenon, known as parallel development, reflects a fundamental truth:
Innovation is collective.
Believing in a lone genius inventor is no different than believing one person invented language. It is a myth a projection of modern individualistic values onto deeply social, cooperative past societies.
This is presentism.
And it distorts history.
Social learning not isolated brilliance was the engine of human evolution. It is how we survived, adapted, and advanced.
The “myth of the genius” is not just historically flawed. it serves a modern purpose.
It provides a convenient narrative to justify extreme wealth concentration and inequality, framing success as the product of singular brilliance rather than collective systems, shared knowledge, and societal infrastructure.
But history tells a different story.
We rise together.
We innovate together.
And we always have.
think this is also why solitude and loneliness aren't the same thing. We are shaped by others and by the collective, but we also need moments alone to reflect, integrate, and return to that collective more intentionally. Solitude doesn't reject connection. it deepens our capacity for it.
This is amazing :)
Thank you
Writing by hand is my version of this. No autocorrect, no notifications, no suggestions. Just the page and whatever is actually in the thinking. The first few lines of any session are usually just clearing the backlog, exactly as described here. What comes after is where the real work lives. Seneca was right that it is a philosophical problem, not a social one. You cannot think clearly inside a life you have never been willing to sit with quietly.
I really like that perspective. Writing by hand creates a kind of solitude that's hard to find elsewhere. It's amazing how much clarity appears once the noise settles and you're simply left alone with your own thoughts. Thanks for sharing this.
I love this, and really appreciate the clear distinction between the two experiences of solitude and loneliness because I agree that they are often confused.
The practice of solitude sounds similar to the Buddhist practice of sense restraint. Would you consider it a form of meditation, even if informal (i.e. no particular ritual or posture around it)?
I think solitude gives us that space. The feeling arrives on its own, but when we spend time alone with it instead of immediately reacting, we often discover we have more choice than we first thought. That's where clarity begins.
Absolutely!
Beautiful article! I’ve practiced solitude for many years. This helps me explain the difference when people ask,”don’t you get lonely?”
Thank you! I'm so glad it resonated. It's amazing how often solitude is mistaken for loneliness. I hope the article helps put that difference into words.