Sweet Solitude — Hang Out With Thy Soul

“If women were convinced that a day off or an hour of solitude was a reasonable ambition, they would find a way of attaining it.”

– Anne Morrow Lindbergh, “Gift from the Sea”

And that goes for men, too. For solitude, I suspect, is a human need versus a want.

Over the years, solitude has become as essential to me as breathing. If I don’t have at least half an hour in the morning to sip my coffee, reflect on the day before, plan the day ahead, dream about the future, give thanks for the blessings in my life, send out a prayer for those in need and then just sit quietly for a few moments — not thinking about anything at all — then my day tends to spiral out of control pretty quickly.

“When our minds are calm,” explains Calgary author Elisabeth Fayt, in her excellent book, Paving it Forward; The Energy of Creating, “little disturbances in the day are like small pebbles causing mere ripples in the lake of our consciousness. When our minds are restless, little disturbances are like boulders causing great waves in our consciousness.”

“From a calm centre,” Fayt continues, “we make better decisions.”

“Certain springs are tapped only when we are alone. The artist knows he must be alone to create; the writer, to work out his thoughts…