"I Vant to Be Alone"

I've found this to be true of most creative people. We crave solitude. Why? I believe it's because we need time to be alone and quiet with our thoughts. Alone time feeds our spirits, because it gives us time to contemplate. We spend a lot of time trying to understand other people, ourselves, events, and work out how to deal with them. We also need that time to give our creative side a voice, to determine the best way to write, draw, paint, sing, compose, or choreograph our thoughts and feelings into art. It takes uninterrupted time, concentration, and focus to create, and our spirits begin to wither without it. We must abandon the crowds, the chatter, the laughter, and fun, sometimes, for our own good.

So, we ask for understanding when we don't show up for the party or when we turn down invitations. It's not that we don't enjoy our friends and socialization, it's more that sometimes, our spirits are crying out to us for a little insulation, a little protection from the noise that overwhelms our thoughts and ability to create. One of my uber-creative friends occasionally announces he's having a "Garbo day" in reference to the actress's famous line from the movie "Grand Hotel," when she said in her Russian accent, "I vant to be alone." When he says this, we all know to give him a break and let him have his space to rejuvenate himself, and his spirit. For creative people, the need to have significant time alone is just part of who we are. We engage when we can, and we withdraw when we need to. Sometimes, we really do just "vant to be alone."