Human beings seek affirmation on a very basal level, and it stems from an instinctual, primal desire to belong to a herd, and to feel a sense of importance in their existence. This need is further exacerbated by any event or series of events that may provoke a sense of anxiety in a person; that he or she may soon be forgotten and displaced. Desperation to prove or to kindle affirmation of any kind is the result of a person's eventual realisation that his or her worth is diminishing to become possibly negligible.

In response, some people work harder by compromising on their own sense of self, and their own dignity in order to mould themselves into that which is recognisable and familiar to the very people that he or she is so desperate to be a part of. In an act of ''selling out'', some people therefore undermine their own individuality for the utterly unnecessary sake of bending to the will of the collective in order to be a part of a superficial fraternity of sorts.

There are also some who instead of conforming to that which is on par with a collective, often end up degrading themselves to become he who is a slave to the whim and fancy of the group, and in doing so, find affirmation and security in the belief that in being constantly manipulated and exploited, their presence has been rightfully acknowledged.

Now, while there are those who demean themselves to become part of solely one collective entity, there are others who work to spread their abilities and gifts to the far reaches of the earth, such that they are able to find great purpose and satisfaction in fulfilling the inanimate, and to some extent, the corporeal as well. They drown themselves in work, and in commitments that they are fully capable of competently accomplishing, and all with the intention of distracting themselves from the absence of an affiliation to any one particular person or collective body so as to avoid dealing with their insecurities and their anxieties. Work is therefore an escape for said individual, and life without a shortage of time is but an endless bitter reminder of his or her inability to find belonging to a herd.

Granted, there are always those who are perfectly content with being alone and having no one else, and nothing else to shower their affections and attentions on. Not on pets, nor on work, and definitely not on other people. Their happiness is quite satiating, and solitude is hardly a negative on their watch. Well, fuck that. Liars, them all. You're human, and you've got basic needs and desires, like that of the need to belong.

It's a beautiful, shameful and sinful desire, indeed.