The other day, I felt bored and was surfing the internet.

At some point you inevitably end up on Quora, and it is always an unexpected question.

I was used to these questions: ‘Who wins if I sue myself?’ or ‘Do planets say hi to each other when they pass by?’ These are enjoyable questions, but this time, I was very unprepared.

One man said he felt very lonely and wanted to join the Army.

I hadn’t thought of that.

Could this person have misunderstood Sartre’s quote?

‘I was alone, but I marched like a regiment descending on a city.’

Inspiration is not a crime.

But here Sartre was talking about being strong like an army. He didn’t say he had joined the army because he was lonely.

OK, I’m not going to judge this.

If you’ve ever experienced deep loneliness, you know. Loneliness is so hard that sometimes it can make you do things that you shouldn’t do. We’ve all done stupid things when we’ve felt lonely.

It’s extremely hard.

Artists and writers are even lonelier. I mentioned the reasons for this in my article ‘Why Are Geniuses So Lonely?’.

But in this article, I will talk about the good sides of loneliness.

But if you still want to join the army, it will be your decision.

1.⁠ ⁠Creativity Doesn’t Like Crowds: Why Solitude is Necessary

If you engage in creative work, you need to focus. Writers and artists have their routines. Some prefer to be alone at certain hours. Murakami, for example, states that he spends a considerable part of the day writing. You’re no longer ‘the artist.’ You’re someone with your tools and your ghosts. That’s where actual work begins.

Virginia Woolf asked for a room of one’s own. In Lacanian terms, when the Symbolic cracks, the Real appears. Strange, raw, sometimes terrifying. And from that place, I write — not to explain, but to become.

2. Solitude and the Need to Think.

I wish more people saw thinking as a need — like coffee or charging their phone. Loneliness might actually help with that. Loneliness means silence, unless you start talking to your plants too much. It means thinking. This sometimes feels traumatic, it is confronting. Our emotions that do not come out around others come out. It is a time for confrontation. We fear silence. It fills rooms with noise. Being with yourself does not mean that the world has abandoned you. It is to be called back to it.

3.⁠ ⁠Deep Connections Are Meaningful, not How Many People There Are.

There is no need to have deep bonds with everyone. You can’t cope anyway. Think about it, so many weddings and graduations. It’s exhausting. Number? It might look good on social media — lots of people. From a psychological view, what matters most is how a person perceives social support, not just the numbers. How lonely do they feel? This is more important than the number.

If you have read this article and feel lonely, remember that many people feel lonely these days. It can also be periodic. While our social support is better from time to time, we may have periodic withdrawals.

And sometimes you’re so lonely that you just go, join the army.