'I never found a companion who was so companionable as solitude' - Thoreau
We all need time alone. Solitude is a restorative experience. Removing ourselves from our high density urban world, slowing down, close to nature and away from the usual hubble-bubble. We may arrive bearing the existential bruises of city living, but through experiencing solitude we begin healing the wounds to our sense of who we are and how we relate to others. Its as though we are a computer that needs regular de-fragging of all the useless junk clogging up it functioning better.
Today we’re always in communication and available, the thought of even a day away from portable devices can feel alarming. Being alone brings worries and fears to the surface, but most recede once we sit looking out of a window at a wind tossed landscape, taking in nature, taking in ourselves. Doing nothing for as long as possible.
Solitude needs to be chosen. Self-isolating in a pandemic, feels imprisoning because it wasn't at our instigation. Solitude need not be viewed as starvation, but as nutrition. Learning how to enjoy being with just you, the only desire to be in better touch with oneself, content within solitude.
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