Unsociable

“A man that is out of humor when an unexpected guest breaks in upon him, and does not care for sacrificing an afternoon to any chance comer; that will be master of his own time and pursuer of his own inclinations, makes but a very unsociable figure in this life.” Addison

“Unsociable tempers are contracted in solitude, which will in the end not fail of corrupting the understanding as well as the manners, and of utterly disqualifying a man for the satisfactions and duties of life. Men must be taken as they are, and we neither make them or ourselves better, by flying from or quarreling with them.” Burke

I ran across these two quotes in my book “Gems of Great Authors”. I think they really go hand in hand; when we spend too much time in solitude we can easily become fussy and used to having our own way. So much so, that the simple distraction of an unexpected guest becomes a burden; we want to be the ‘master of our own time and pursuer of our own inclinations’. Often when children come into a family there is a huge adjustment as we learn to sacrifice our time that was once our own and now duty and sacrifice become the norm. I’ve known some that could never make the necessary adjustments. It is a pity because we gain our time but lose the deepest satisfactions life has to offer.

Top photo by Alexander Ch, bottom photo by Gary Ian Young