The Loner
FROM DAVE:
The Loner
I want to comment on how suprisingly easy it is for some males to completely withdraw from others
and be satisfied living in their own world. While so many times women fight to have affection shown
toward them, men will withdraw and deny the need for affection.
The last thing I want to do is burden others with the duty to fulfill some emotional need (one that I
probably do not have anyway), so I will retreat to prove to others and myself that I can live in isolation.
I do not want to be like the many others out there who have drained me, so I retreat.
The loner pulls away from the world not only to prove self-sufficiency, but also to observe his surroundings.
There is a sort of safety in removing oneself mentally, for if we create a new, reformed circumstance in our
minds then we can "baptize" reality with
our imagination. But those who observe are not always welcome. The group notices when one is present
but not involved. The one throws a sort of self-consciousness onto the entire group. Perhaps this is due
to the loner's self-conceit, for why else would he think he can make reality better? No, the loner must not
become so serious about the
world in his mind that he would actually rather dwell there than in reality. But the danger is when he
becomes more enthralled in the world that could be than in the world that already is, thus isolating himself
from all others.
But what is the loner to do with his unsatisfaction? How can he take what so often is perceived as
negative and make it good? Can he truly make his world better by removing and searching for a clearer
picture of what the world should be like? The loner must develop the skill of engaging with the world
in order to present his observations and hope that there is some value in his already natural tendency.
