So far…points to consider rather than conclusions…. 1. and foremost that there is value in solitude, and solitude is different from loneliness…because solitude is just the removal of social influence, you are still accompanied by other beings… 2. loneliness occurs along a spectrum…there is a basic need to be recognized for your basic dignity, I have found that baristas and bartenders to be excellent sources of this…then there is a intermediate need to be recognized for your intellectual and emotional contributions to your family or social group. I get the former mostly from friends far away and the latter from immediate family…then there is a deeper need for physical and emotional intimacy with a lover…most people only seem to want to scratch the surface on this…hence divorces…then there is the deepest need for a similar intimacy like that of a lover but without the sex part with all of life, the earth, Gaia, or a deity one chooses to represent that with…this is mostly what people are looking for when they seek solitude… 3. [[belonging]] is the opposite of loneliness, but not the antidote…the antidote is embracing the feeling to understand what kind it is… 4. Doing so ignites empathy for others >[!quote] [Jenny Odell](https://emergencemagazine.org/interview/another-kind-of-time/) >There is for me a deep [[Thoughts on Loneliness|loneliness]] in the way a lot of modern life feels in terms of how we’re able to relate to other people and how we’re able to relate to the nonhuman world. The value in embracing the experience of loneliness is developing the patience and empathy to understand why people make such poor choices to avoid it. I'm not sure I agree with the adage that you are born alone and die alone. Unless you were born in a test tube or circumstances that ripped you away from your primary caregiver, your first human experience is attachment to your mother. Loneliness is the [[negatité|nothingness]] experienced when that attachment dissolves, whether through growing up, or death. I'm not sure loneliness is a natural human condition. Solitude, yes, but not loneliness. Loneliness is something we seem to have accepted in exchange for the appearance of social connection. ### 2025-04-03 #### The Art of Loneliness > [!idea] > Transform it into solitude.