THE GLORY OF SOLITUDE
We've all been lonely. You may understand how one weary traveler felt
as he sat alone on the edge of the bed in his motel room. He reached
for the Gideon Bible in the drawer and opened it. Inside was a page
that said, "If you are lonely and restless, read Psalm 23 and Psalm
27, Old Testament." Just below this reference, somebody wrote by
hand: "If you are still lonesome, call Mandy at 235-2827."
Not all aloneness is lonely, however. Theologian Paul Tillich put it
this way: "Language... has created the word 'loneliness' to express
the pain of being alone. And it has created the word 'solitude' to
express the glory of being alone."
Can you be alone without being lonely? Can you spend time by yourself
without craving noise and stimulation? There is glory in solitude.
And it brings with it gifts that come from nowhere else.
Ardath Rodale has said, "We can find quiet places of solitude among
the trees. In a grove of pine trees where the ground is covered by
soft needles, I sometimes lie down and look up through the branches
to see the blue sky. The tips of new pine growth shine in the
sunlight. The smell of pine needles fills the air. As a soft wind
blows, I realize that the whole branch sways in the breeze, but the
needles shiver independently like one of Bertoia's musical chimes. I
listen, but all is quiet. Trees say to each of us, 'Give yourself
time to listen to who you are.'"
Have you noticed that, in English, the word "listen" contains the
same letters as the word "silent"? In order to truly listen to who we
are, we must be silent. And in solitude, we will hear what can be
heard no other way.
Have you discovered the glory of solitude?