That direct engagement with the self, with no fear of shame or abandonment, no struggling to please others, is what makes isolation feel restorative and generative when it creates the conditions for solitude. In other words, stories we create with ourselves, for ourselves, can be a way of redeeming loneliness. It's when we hit the limits of the

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She used to be curious about the people who sat alone in pubs and cafés, wondering if they were lonely and wanted company; if they were friendless by choice or irritable and irksome by nature and good at driving people away. But now she sees that there’s a freedom in being unknown and alone, with time to think unhindered by conversation and other

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Maybe that’s why solitude matters. Not the performative kind where you call it “ working on yourself ” while secretly waiting for someone to arrive, but the kind that feels endless at first.