I am very glad to know there are many people out there like myself. This article touched on many good points. I prefer to be alone about 70% of the time. I NEVER feel lonely, in fact just the opposite. I feel inspired in thought and connected to the massive pulsating power of our universe and everything in it. To be around people actually pulls me down into the superficiality of EGO which is not where I prefer to spend my time. I have practiced meditation for more than 10 years now and I credit this practice with allowing me to find comfort and power in Solitude. It really is a super power in today's world. I am completely comfortable with myself simply sitting on a bench doing nothing. I do not need more than that. There are certainly times where I do want to be around like minded people. I am constantly getting pressure from family etc.. to change my ways. The vast majority of people are obviously not like this.
> To be around people actually pulls me down into the superficiality of EGO which is not where I prefer to spend my time.
This is very true. Although I am not yet content to sit on a bench doing nothing (I'd prefer to read), solitude is a wonderful hiatus from the physical attachments that are sometimes needed in life. Making friends can often be a clashing of egos which eventually dissolves until you can see each other in a deeper way-- but before that, in a room full of people at a conference for example, all is just masks and shields and feints, the social game, which just comes down to beating around the bush. It's hard not to play the game, but the more comfortable I am in solitude, the more comfortable I am in subverting the game. I'm more honest now, willing to show people I am vulnerable without manipulation, that I am confident without arrogance, and I've formed deeper connections with others as a result. When you are authentic around others in the same way you are with yourself in solitude, the "right people" just come. I have found a lot of like-minded people this way, and having that enhances that inspiration and connection to "the massive pulsating power of our universe ".
You have probably already read it, but your post reminds me of the book, Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, which is about the life's journey of Buddha, who also discovered that sitting alone was an experience he enjoyed greatly, an activity which gave way to Buddhism, whose ultimate goal is to eliminate human suffering caused by the ego. You seem to be saying the same thing in a different way, which is awesome.
Sorry for being pedantic but Siddharta is a story about someone who meets Buddha in person but instead of becoming a disciple he becomes enlightened himself through living a quiet live by a river.
