When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death—ourselves.

Leshan’s remark reframes loneliness as a diagnostic: if solitude feels unbearable, the problem may be less the absence of others than an underdeveloped relationship with oneself. The “only companion…from birth to death” underscores the inescapability of selfhood—our thoughts, memories, and conscience accompany us regardless of circumstance. The quote therefore advocates self-knowledge and self-respect as prerequisites for emotional resilience. It also implies that constant social distraction can function as avoidance, masking insecurity or self-dislike. Valuing oneself here does not mean narcissism; it suggests cultivating inner resources—reflection, acceptance, and purpose—so that being alone becomes tolerable, even restorative, rather than threatening.