When I think about how much human connection I’ve missed over the past year by socially isolating myself, I feel sad. Then, when I think about how I used the past year, I feel better.
If I had used my extra alone time over the past year primarily to watch more TV and movies and play video games, I’d feel a great sense of loss now. But I didn’t do that. I spent my time primarily reading books, and I averaged about three books a week over the past year. Now, I may not have managed social isolation as well as I could. Perhaps I should have been more social and less of a fraidy cat. So I ain’t saying I made the best choices, but I can look back on the past year without the sense it was wasted time. I never got depressed. I never felt isolated or lonely. I never felt fatigued by my lack of a social life. Instead, I primarily got excited each morning about the possibilities for reading.
The Eagles may not have been the most profound pop group, but if they weren’t, they were pretty close.
Well baby, there you stand
With your little head down in your hand
Oh my God, you can’t believe it’s happening again
Your baby’s gone and you’re all alone
And it looks like the end
Back out on the street
And you’re trying to remember, oh
How do you start it over
You don’t know if you can
You don’t care much for a stranger’s touch
But you can’t hold your man
You never thought you’d be alone
This far down the line
But I know what’s been on your mind
You’re afraid it’s all been wasted time
The autumn leaves have got you thinking
About the first time that you fell, fell
You didn’t love the boy too much
No, no you just loved the boy too well, yeah
So you live from day to day
And you dream about tomorrow
And the hours go by like minutes
And the shadows come to stay
So you take a little something to make them go away
And I could have done so many things, baby
If I could only stop my mind
From wondering what I left behind
And from worrying about this wasted time
The love has come and gone
The years keep rushing on
I remember what you told me
Before you went out on your own
Sometimes to keep it together
You got to leave it alone
So you can get on with your search, baby
And I can get on with mine
Maybe someday we will find
That it wasn’t really wasted time