k_X_power_descriptor  k_soul_search

I’m a solo person, not a social person. Schopenhauer : “The capacity to be alone is one of the most distinctive marks of a high intellectual being.”

— dependency on other people .. Many Buddhists advocate detachment, self-reliance and the impermanence of close relationships. Stay Connected in bad times like covid19? Sure but watch out for overreliance.

Many depend on other people[service providers,,] to keep them /entertained/ and engaged. Though total independency is impractical, it is reasonable to depend on print media or offline electronic content, or depend on musical instrument, painting equipment… Without any justification, I feel offline movie (VCD) is reasonable dependency, but cinema would be over-dependency.

A job would provide better connectedness, though it is still a dependency on other people.

— too much free time .. I seldom have “too much” free time but when I do have that luxury, I tend to spend the precious free time in /solitude/ (rather than with my little bundles of joy) on

• #1 reflective blogging including diary + recoll
• personal investment
• solo exercise
• reading

— reflective blogging 4 solitary personality
Jolt on sightseeing .. I used to envy those ex-classmates, ex-colleagues who travel widely for sightseeing. Now I think they resemble my boredom-stricken kids — they are to various extent dependent on the new experiences to keep them (stimulated and) feeling alive. More than half the intellectuals I admire are not so dependent on sightseeing. My father is the best-understood example. He enjoys sightseeing but is completely fine with the (pandemic) travel restrictions.

Writing/blogging, painting, sculpture, music-making, reading, some singing (in my experience) .. is solitary. My long emails are semi-solitary. Social media apps are not. They require another person to respond in real time. I’m a solo person, not a social person. I seldom have “too much” free time but when I do, I tend to spend the precious free time by myself (rather than with kids) on

• #1 reflective blogging including diary + recoll
• personal investment
• solo exercise
• reading

— sunset years[晚年].. solitude (rather than loneliness) is a positive thing. Physical self-reliance is probably the foundation of solitude. [[Nomadland]] is an introspective journey about solitude in old age.

Depending on their health, many old women have varying degrees of active social lives including grandchildren duties. In contrast, many old men (+a few women) sit in bus interchanges to avoid loneliness. My father might be a victim of “loss of social interaction”. Some 10-20% of old folks have no meaningful interaction with their children or grandchildren.

What’s my profile? I am very chatty and tend to spend lots of time chatting/emailing with friends. As I prepare for my sunset years, it’s plausible to reduce that dependency.

Harmony: Instead of “avoid”, I want to prepare [well in advance, as a role model] and live with solitude, serenity and zqbx:

• sugg: seek activities with periodic seminars and meet-ups
• .. recreational stock trading, within some *community*
• .. recreational AMB
• .. buy supplements and join the sponsored clubs
• .. buy insurance from different companies. Agents tend to follow up periodically.
• .. church group
• .. workout groups
• sugg: live close to grown-up children, and bring a big nest egg
• sugg: roaming retirement
• sugg: prefer warm locations .. easier to go out and meet people
• .. sugg: prefer walkable locations
• sugg: teach
• sugg: volunteer
• sugg: dev-till-70 and beyond

A.Brook’s 2019 article also pointed out the final years of Bach vs someone. It seem to paint a bleak picture of sunset years in solitude.