On the room kept at the back

Montaigne wanted everyone to keep what he called a back shop — a small room, entirely their own, where nothing is owed to anyone. Not a retreat from people, but a place to return from them intact.

Without it, we become the sum of what others need from us, and the loss is so gradual that no single day accounts for it. The room is not selfishness. It is what makes the rest of you worth giving.