I have always liked being alone - more chances to read! - but until a few years ago, there was always the nagging doubt of "Am I missing out on something?" I needed the validation of other people's presence and approval to function.
But over the last ten years or so, as my spiritual journey has moved on, two steps forward, one step back, I have come to truly appreciate the benefits of solitude. I looked at the photo above and my first reaction was "Oh, I wish..." It all looks so peaceful; the white house in the sunshine, set in the natural world, and the small white boat in the foreground... I longed to be there.
Loneliness is a terrible thing... you feel unloved, unwanted, as though the world has passed you by. Whereas solitude, the ability to spend time alone, by your own choice, with the Spirit, can be wonderful. I have also come to love silence, and no longer feel the need to fill all the spaces in my life with words. To sit in silence is to be at peace.
So I would love to spend some time in that little white house, with a desk, my laptop, and endless supply of tea and coffee, and time to write. Bliss. No phone calls, no texts, no e-mails, no calls on my time. I would write and write, then take a break to walk in the landscape, or perhaps take a turn on the water. Then return to the house, to write again.
I think that the key thing is balance. While I would love to spend *some* time in that house - perhaps a week, perhaps two, I would begin to miss people after that. There are few pleasures I enjoy more than sharing the evening time with my husband, half watching something on TV, half doing a craft - cross-stitch, crochet. Because sharing your solitude with another can also be wonderful.
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