A Case, And Some Space, For Introversion

“Telling an introvert to go to a party is like telling a saint to go to Hell.” ~ Criss Jami

Ah the guilt, and sometimes shame, we feel as introverts … Why? Because we get replenished by being in our own space and our own energy instead of that of the group (as extroverts do)? Why does it matter how you get replenished (or depleted), so long as you can get replenished (and be mindful of what depletes you)? Why judge? And from whence the judgment?

I’m talking to all of us now because we all have an introverted aspect. We’ll all feel the call of the winter, literal or otherwise, to go inward, toward solitude, conservation and quiet. Just as even the most introverted of us will feel the call in the spring to come out more, and be out more, and share what we’ve cultivated alone with others.

So there’s a) not judging because even if you think the judgment doesn’t apply to you it will at some moment, or ‘season’ – and likely a whole lot more than one – in your life. But, as the old folk wisdom goes, there is also b) making sure that ‘in casting out satan we do not cast out the best parts of ourselves’. I.e. we should be careful that when we take to judging we don’t mistake the gifts precisely for what is wrong, bad, evil or vice. After all, there is something to Pascal’s remark, ‘All sorrow has its root in man’s inability to sit quiet in a room by himself.’, is there not?

And also to Susan Cain’s beautiful and brilliant case below:

If you’re an introvert, please watch it. If you love an introvert, please watch it. And if you know an introvert, please forward this to them so they can watch it too.