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I have new neighbours, although I don't know them. It's not a terribly interesting fact but it came up in conversation earlier, and it caused me to consider why it is that I haven't taken the initiative to beat down their door to introduce myself.

It's hard to know whether these days, as a society, we tend to keep ourselves to ourselves more.. or whether that's just me. I guess there's some comfort in generalising - to assume that the rest of the world is more like you than not. But in all fairness, maybe I'm more reluctant to step up and say "Hi" than the next man.

I guess I've always been fairly introvert, but I wonder if, as time goes on, I'm not becoming even more so. I have the strangest feeling that, when it comes to friends and acquaintances, I'm closed for new business. Not accepting applications. Is that a bad thing?

Do I need more friends? Do I need more acquaintances? (I'm using both of those words as if they're different things, but I'm not sure I consciously make the distinction.) Maybe I've just come to the conclusion that I know enough people now, and don't have room for any more. People I work with, the handful of friends from former lives, and the few people I talk to online.. Maybe that's enough.

Then again, I suspect that might be how I rationalise it. Maybe underneath, my motives could be quite different. After all, making new friends is hard. It carries the risk of rejection and pain. Other people can be full of surprises, which might be pleasant - but also might not be, and chances are that it's not worth the risk.

Maybe it's stupid - well, I'm fairly sure that it is - but perhaps it's just my way of avoiding the difficult stuff. Aren't human beings complicated and sad creatures?

Then again.. maybe that's just me. :-)