Anais Nin attends a party in the summer of 1959 that she anticipates will the the greatest party ever, but it turns out a dismal failure. All the people were sitting around, not talking to each other, not even showing any interest in each other. There was no laughter, no energy; it was dead. She says, "It was as if they had drunk a potion of indifference."
Have you attended parties like this? I have, and I have been the person who drank the potion of indifference. I suppose it came from a feeling of not belonging to the group, like maybe they all had some connection to each other that I didn't have. I just wanted to slip away or disappear or just get it over with as soon as possible. I think acting any other way would have been phony. Is it best just to avoid people you don't care to learn more about? Or should you make a greater attempt to actively participate and engage yourself in the conversation by expressing more curiosity about them? Is some of the responsibility on them as well?
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