Solitude

How often do you get to just be by yourself? No kids, spouses, significant others, work, anything.

How often do you go into silence? With no music, tv, Internet or other distractions of life.

When was the last time you took a trip by yourself?

When was the last time you took a walk in nature, alone?

When was the last time you went to the movies, out to dinner or to any event alone?

The answers to the questions is not often enough and it has been too long to be able to remember. By nature you are not solitary animals, unless you are totally introverted and that is not many of you. No a majority of you cherish contact with others.

You tolerate the hustle and bustle of life because you think that is how it should be. You must be busy, busy, busy. Otherwise, how is anything ever going to get done? You are forever trying to cram 30 hours of stuff into a 24 day and wonder why you are stressed out, anxious and tired. Mostly tired!

It is because you do not take time to just be in solitude. For some of you solitude is scary. What will you do with yourself? What might you find out about you that you do not like? For others you think it is a waste of time. There is stuff to be done you know? Can you say stroke or heart attack walking?

Of course you can be in solitude and still be doing things, just do them alone. You can garden, work on a project, listen to music, watch a movie or ride your bike. The key here is doing it alone, with no distractions from anything else. And that's the tough part. Now, if you are so inclined, being in solitude, like on a hike, where you are alone in nature can be even more relaxing but the idea here is to mentally remove yourself from the rest of the world.

"The great omission in American life is solitude...that zone of time and space, free from the outside pressures, which is the incinerator of spirit." - Marya Mannes

Here are five reasons for the importance of going into solitude. It allows you:

1. to relax and just be.

2. to take time off from the rigors of everyday life.

3. to recharge your batteries.

4. to get in touch with you.

5. to take an internal inventory.

"One hour of thoughtful solitude may nerve the heart for days of conflict - girding up its armour to meet the most insidious foe." - Percival

So, don't look at solitude as something to avoid or put off when you have time for it. It is something you need to do to maintain your physical, mental and spiritual health.

That's all for today.

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry