Solitude..........
Who doesn't want to be left alone at times? And who can stay alone for quite a long time without any friends or acquaintances? We need both-- interaction with others and also some quiet time with ourselves. Neither should become a priority over the other.
I'm basically a reserved person who'd love to be left alone most of the times. Yet at times, i feel the need to interact with people, share my thoughts and ideas with them and listen to their lives. This need to interact and belong to the outside world has increased in the recent years. When i was travelling to jammu last fortnight with my family, i felt this belongingness more than ever. When i'm weary with the work in the office or bugged up with the rush of everyday life, i search out for my friends and spend time chatting or listening to their ramblings.
Yet nobody can spend all their time in the outside world. Even when we're alone, we're with our thoughts, ideas and worries--totally occupied, and in a way involved with the world(through our thoughts). So solitude necessarily doesn't mean staying away from people, in a remote place, or locked up in a room. I think we need to touch silence within ourselves to experience that solitude.
When all our thoughts cease totally, then we can truly be with our'selves'. This solitude is very much required simply because it opens doors we never thought existed. Even at a superficial level it helps us understand ourselves better and think deeply about issues in our lives in a powerfully focussed way. And at a higher level it takes us beyond what we know, and introduces us to the unknowable.
I think the time has come for every human being to get acquainted with the solitude hidden within him. We need to turn towards the spiritual aspect of our personality if we want to make sense of this increasingly complex modern world, and the confusion it's capable of creating in us.
The time for Meditations has come.
When all our thoughts cease totally, then we can truly be with our'selves'....yes i agree with u!...we need time with ourselves also sometimes...true!
ReplyDeletevishwa .....
ReplyDeletemmmm solitude...we need that once in a while for introspection. and it is our space when nobody but we or the "i" becomes important.
even the inner i shdould get some attention some time and i guess that is why we prefer solitude sometimes and not always...
u never shared anything about the trip and photos too .....say my hai and regards to ur better half vishwa...
cya
viswa - I'd get pinched with that need of solitude often too. guess we gotta be there just for the heck of it! really - most of the times we dont think about anything... it's just that we want to stay away from everything..
ReplyDeleteaf.... sometimes it pays to be 'selfish'. Read somewhere that we are programmed from childhood to look outside ourselves and think of other's welfare, forgetting ourselves. This leads to a poor self-esteem and looking to others for approval.
ReplyDeleteSo spending time with our selves goes a long way in building up our self-worth. Without this, any achievement in life is useless, i believe.
Ash.... I'm a bit of a private person although i write about my life in my blog. I'm still thinking whether to put my wedding photos or not. About my trip, i'll share details in some snippets in subsequent posts. Writing exclusively about the trip is boring and un-inspiring for me.
Thanks for the wishes.
Bhanu... staying away from everything is what we all wish for and indulge in at times, but it is a negative thing, a kind of escapism. It happens when we are frustrated with life and want to stay away from the challenges and the stress they bring.
My emphasis is on the positive solitude---not loneliness but aloneness. There's a lot of difference between the two. You can be in a crowd yet be in solitude if you wish to. Solitude or aloneness is more internal and subjective than outward--oriented. Slightly tough to make sense but on a deeper thought it becomes clear, i believe.
On solitude and being alone.....I find the best meditation is when meditating with friends. Strange conundrum - inner solitude strengthened in a group! *off to meditation group and looking forward to it*
ReplyDeleteIm a bit of an alone person but i like being in the same room with loved ones, not necessarily having to speak, but knowing they are there and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteI kinda feel at times, that i have been given too much solitude time, but havent used it appropriately, having my thoughts overwhelm and make simplicity complicated.
I think sometimes its because I dont want to be bored or something.:-p
I use to meditate long ago, and only have reached that level of letting go and feeling my true self a few times. It is a nice feeling, but in part, it makes me feel as though I dont have proper control on my life,by just going with the flow...as though, I have lost my sense of uniqueyness..
At the moment, i do have self esteem issues cuz i have the tendency to look outside of myself for approval, which equates to less faith in myself, my choices, and decisions, and my "truths". I have noticed now, looking back at my life recently, i see how the negative feeds and zaps energy out of my life and i question why i let it.
I understand that without negative, positive couldnt be seen, but i overdose and im recovering.
*sighs*:-p
I hope all is well with you and your wife and yes, Jassen is fine and dandy. We will be seeing each other in a little over a week, so thats exciting!!
:-)
ya i never thought about where u will put the piccis ....my mistake .....
ReplyDeleteGood morning between
Ash.
God speaks in our silence.
ReplyDeleteVal...Group meditation definetely helps strengthen our individual spiritual progress. Have experienced this. Looking at your interests, i feel you are more indian than most of my countrymen.
ReplyDeleteJen...Nice thoughts. Meditation is the food of our soul, and without this nourishment we'll have a tough time coping up.
I'm enjoying the new phase of my life, thank you. Say my hi to Jassen. Good luck.
Father Chez.... Good morning to Thee...Amen.
Ash... :-)