Solitude is like winter: The best thing about it is that it has a timestamp. To intentionally seek out solitude, we also sign up for the promise of homecoming — the warmth of familiar, friendly context, people who generally know where you are, and how you are, without needing to expend much effort. One of the most underrated benefits of living together is the simple wellness check — “Is she alive, and generally of sound mind, heart, body?” — that people who live together perform on each other daily. It’s a continuous tune-up, socially underrated but spiritually essential.