I was with a friend the other day and she mentioned how much she had missed her husband, who was returning the following day after two weeks in the U.S. She asked me how I lived in comparative isolation, and wondered aloud if she was too needy. I reassured her that she wasn't and we just had very different personalities, but her comments got me thinking.
I have written about seeking a rich, inner life--a vibrant self-contained world that exists in our minds. The friend in question is an extrovert with a heart of gold. I suppose she has a rich outer life which relies on people and other active stimuli for vibrancy. People with rich outer lives, who bring love and warmth into the lives of the people around them with their glowing personalities, are valued by everyone, and rightly so. If only people with rich inner lives were appreciated more, or at least not seen as weirdos. They might not touch the lives of as many people as ROLs do, but RILs are generally happy and content in their own self-sufficient way (this doesn't mean they don't have problems, including to do with their mental health). That rubs off on the people who are close to them and on the world too.
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