Human beings are social creatures. We need the contact of other human beings to grow up healthy and to maintain well-being. This need is so deep and important that this article says, "Human love is the air we must breathe." It is common for people to rebel against this need, because it makes us feel incomplete in ourselves. However, when we withdraw from social contact in order to "avoid dependency," we find ourselves less strong, less healthy, and less secure in isolation.

This article recounts a brief, intimate conversation about our need for relationship. The discussion ends with recommendation for reversing habitual withdrawal, giving up the dilemma about autonomy vs. independence, and discovering for oneself that loving is as unproblematic as breathing. See Article