Something I miss in this COVID-19 world is the ability to have one of those alone-in-a-crowd experiences. There is something special about being detached in an busy environment; inside it, but apart from it. Times when I could not concentrate in the office, I might relocate to the Student Union Building. Students and noise are all around, but I am not crowded, not suffocating like like I would be if I were trying to make my way between and through them.

It’s the same at a restaurant or coffee shop. I remember late nights studying in grad school at the Chinese restaurant near my apartment. I miss those times I’ve taken my laptop to a local coffeehouse to write. Research has chimed in on the issue of background noise and found that moderate levels can actually improve creativity. Mehta, Zhu, and Cheema reported on this in 2012 after conducting a number of experiments testing the volume of ambient noise on creative cognition. It’s about more than the noise or its volume, though. I can imitate that with Spotify or any of the other apps for ambient sounds or music. In fact, YouTube will add the images along with seasonal sounds to boost productivity.

It’s about the energy. Energy from others is palpable. Someone is whipping the foam for a latte, friends rehash the weekend with laughter and high fives, the man at the next table types and shuffles papers. Activity. People and ideas in motion filling the space. The comings and goings of others keeps that space from spilling over while the energy buoys me.

With the Christmas, I missed being enveloped in the energy, navigating the a store with happy sounds of helpful sales clerks and groups of shoppers comparing their finds. I enjoy a solo adventure, joined only by my list of ideas and the soundtrack in my head. I am my own movie montage as I make my way from store to store, scene to scene. I’ll have a brief interaction to make a purchase, but retain my anonymity in the adventure.

This is not to say that I prefer to be alone. In fact, I quite enjoy the company of my wife, my family, and my friends. Still, I am not necessarily lonely when alone. It happens, for sure. But, alone in a crowd? I am more likely to get cozy in the energy and use it to amp up my own.