Thanks, Kylie, for your very deep thoughts on this matter. And no worries, I'm not losing out on deeper connections with people. On the contrary, the handful, literally, that I have are immensely fulfilling. The primary one is with Juliet.

When we lived in Bangkok, we had among our acquaintances a couple who were just the opposite of me. The guy was friends with EVERYBODY, and his business thrived (I have to admit). His wife, a wonderfully warmhearted Filipina, felt that itch to introduce everybody to everyone else. "Oh you have to meet XYZ, come I' introduce you" I absolutely hated it, even Juliet, who is far more outgoing than I am, got occasionally exasperated with this habit of hers.

I'm actually happy with my school of life. It made me appreciate texts of older philosopher's like Sun Tzu (The Art of War) or Macchiavelli (The Prince) . Their writings resonate with me because they are a mirror of what we see, and what I have experienced, in today's societies. Their works only got bad press because our opinionating goodie-two-shoes can't fit them into their whitewashed concept of reality.

But as I said, not to worry, I'm very happy within this world, because I know how to navigate it and how to protect myself.