There is a question that has followed me for most of my life, a gentle paradox that I suspect many of us carry. I have always cherished my solitude. The quiet hours spent walking, thinking, or simply being are not an escape for me; they are a homecoming. And yet, I have an equally powerful, undeniable craving for deep, meaningful connection.

For a long time, I saw these two impulses as being in opposition. But I’ve come to see them not as a paradox, but as a rhythm—the most natural and essential ...