“Solitude did increase my perception. But here’s the tricky thing—when I applied my increased perception to myself, I lost my…

“Solitude did increase my perception. But here’s the tricky thing—when I applied my increased perception to myself, I lost my identity. With no audience, no one to perform for, I was just there. There was no need to define myself; I became irrelevant. The moon was the minute hand, the seasons the hour hand. I didn’t even have a name. I never felt lonely. To put it romantically: I was completely free.”

–Christopher Knight (from The Strange Tale of the North Pond Hermit)