Among regular guys it is best to play the regular guy -- as tiring and boring as that can be. Need relief? Strictly limit your time among regular guys. But mix with them a little lest you be hated for being 'aloof,' or 'unfriendly.'
As long as one is in the world, one must be able to pass as being of the world.
Almost all socializing is levelling and dispiriting. It drains one's spiritual sap. But a little socializing is good, like a little whisky. In both cases, however, more is not better.
In this fallen world, society is the enemy of solitude, and solitude is to be preferred if the good of the soul is a goal.
But I can imagine a form of sociality superior to solitude. This would be a society of spirits who had passed through the school of solitude and had achieved self-individuation. But such a society is not to be had here below, if anywhere.
A qualification is needed. There are rare occasions in rare friendships in which one gets a glimpse of what that sodality of spirit would be like.
I'll end on a mundane note. In my experience, a little socializing is often physically stimulating. On an early morning ramble, I am doing alright. I encounter an acquaintance. We chat for a few minutes. When I start up again I feel energized. There's a spring in my step and glide to my stride. I exult, "I feel better than any old man should be allowed to feel."
RELATED: Introverts and Inwardness
Time it took to compose this entry: 35 minutes from 4:00 to 4:35.
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