It's important to have a place to shut out the world and all its demands. A place to collect your thoughts, a place where you can think, relax, be honest with yourself; feel tranquil when needed, and stimulated when not. Somewhere, however small, that gives you a sense of solitude and is a sanctuary for your private thoughts, and where visitors need not be welcomed.
Solitude means being alone without feeling lonely. We all need periods of solitude. Periods of time to think. Thinking really means talking to your self. It involves both the speaker (I) and the listener (me).
Descartes, the 17th-century rationalist and father of modern philosophy, famously said cogito ergo sum, which means I think therefore I am. He believed thinking starts with the eye and came up with his immortal line when he was alone in bed. He must have really liked his own company.
I did a lot of talking to my self last night in my own special place, "Melbourne", far away from the rest of the world. I thought I might spend the rest of the night there, but then there was a knock on the door, and 'she-who-must-be-obeyed' said that dinner was ready.
