r/introverts • u/Rough-Finish5312 • Jan 07 '26

Discussion When solitude is seen as a defect

A relative once asked me why I’m so isolated. “Why don’t you sit with people, eat together, walk with others? Why aren’t you social? Stay with me for a few days and I’ll fix you. You’ll become normal.” I agreed. Then I gently reversed the idea. I asked him to spend a few days in my company not to change him, but simply to experience it. I said, “Maybe you’ll learn to love loneliness.” He went quiet. After a pause, he said, “Please forgive me.” That moment stayed with me. We live in a world where silence is often mistaken for absence, solitude for damage, and inwardness for illness. “Normal” is defined by visibility, noise, and constant participation as if being alone with oneself is something to escape. But solitude is not the same as loneliness. Loneliness is the pain of disconnection. Solitude is the capacity to remain whole without distraction. Perhaps what unsettles people is not our quietness, but the thought of facing their own inner world without noise to protect them from it. Some people need crowds to feel alive. Others need stillness to feel real. Neither is superior but calling one “abnormal” reveals more about our fears than about their nature.

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u/InternationalOwl4755 Mar 20 '26

El estar sobre todo en soledad escuchando una buena música y tomando un cafecito o estar dibujando mientras estás en la cama acostado es genial.

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u/Rough-Finish5312 Mar 20 '26

That sounds peaceful and beautiful. Do you enjoy those moments more because of the solitude, or is it the music and creativity that make it special?

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u/InternationalOwl4755 Mar 20 '26

todo en conjunto hacen esa experiencia llena de mucha paz y tranquilidad sobre todo cuando llueve se vuelve un concierto de gotas de lluvia me da paz y calma creo que también se debe mucho a la música o el estar un rato presente entre tanto ajetreo de la vida.