The Art of Evasion

Don't explain yourself unless it's truly necessary. (Even in your mind.) Either sidestep it, or distance yourself from it altogether.

When you explain yourself to people who don't matter, you squander time that belongs to those who do. You elevate them without cause. Explaining yourself or staying silent—both are merely habits. With effort, habits can be broken.

In the end, among all the things we must live with, they are not one of them. So if you grant them a place in your own life, they will come and steal away some essential person, some crucial happiness. You won't even know when it happened, not until it's already done. What's the point?

If no one comes when you call, walk alone then... We survive by cherishing this noble philosophy of the poet-sage. Better still... never to call anyone at all. Calling is where trouble starts. The moment you call, people sense weakness and exploit it.

The more people you gather in your life, the less happiness remains.