Not a Grouch

I’m not a grouch; I’m a hermit.
I love people and can spend hours with almost anyone. Regardless how difficult you may be, I’ll gain something from your presence. Mostly I’ll learn things you never intended to teach. However, it seems I do my best for others when I’m not around them much.
Being social is not necessary. It has its place, but the people with whom I have the closest affinity are folks who aren’t needy. On the other hand, the folks who seem to cling hardest are the most needy. There’s nothing wrong with being a social person; that’s most of the human race at any given time. But among every flock of sheep you need a couple of goats to keep an eye on things sheep ignore. Be social if you can. If not, find out why. What’s the calling which makes you more useful by yourself?
Most people need affirmation. That’s a weakness, but it’s so pervasive and common you had better get used to it. Learn to give affirmations skillfully and freely. Not false adulation, but encouraging words to those who don’t know what works best in their own souls. It’s a way of pointing them in a different direction than they one they are looking, or to keep them going in the right direction.
Most people think it’s a bad sign if you prefer solitude. Sure, it breeds madness, because we are all badly broken and most don’t know it, not really. Solitude in that badly broken state means you haven’t yet discovered what’s broken. That broken state includes a fundamental sense of isolation and separation from the Source of life. If we don’t start seeking to heal that isolation through other people first, we can’t progress to the Source. Only after you’ve worked through the other broken humans can you place your feet on the path to sanity.
I’ve always been willing to lead. I never wanted to take someone else’s answers. When I understood some of our brokenness, I became equally eager to follow, simply because that leaves the unimportant burdens to others who care about them. I don’t have to accept their answers, only use what they so eagerly give. It helps them understand their own brokenness just a bit better on that level above mere conscious thought. Graciously accept even as you show it’s not that important. Meanwhile, you eventually come to the place you don’t want or need to lead, and that’s when people tend to follow most.
If you avoid people because you don’t have the patience for them, you simply don’t understand. The best reason to avoid people is for the reason nearly impossible to explain. Somehow, it’s in their best interest, and you know it instinctively. Your best friends are in the Otherworld.