“Loneliness is like sitting in an empty room and being aware of the space around you. It is a condition of separateness. Solitude is becoming one with the space around you. It is a condition of union. Loneliness is small, solitude is large. Loneliness closes in around you; solitude expands toward the infinite. Loneliness has its roots in words, in an internal conversation that nobody answers; solitude has its roots in the great silence of eternity.”
Kent Nerburn
Occasionally I come across words that touch me deeply, that let me sit here on my mountain, often late at night and feel as if somebody I don't know, thousands of miles away has reached out and said "yes, you're right, this is how it is".
I often don't even know that I had been feeling or experiencing or thinking along these lines, and then - it all falls into place and the words express it beautifully.
Now and again I ponder why I think solitude is such a pleasant way of being; how I feel it nurtures and renews me and is so often what I crave after being in company for a while or in the city too much. I have always known it is never about loneliness, but about something bigger and more beautiful than that.
And so it is.
"...expands towards the infinite."
"... in the great silence of eternity."
I'm going to let these words float and flow around me for quite some time.
Kent Nerburn
Occasionally I come across words that touch me deeply, that let me sit here on my mountain, often late at night and feel as if somebody I don't know, thousands of miles away has reached out and said "yes, you're right, this is how it is".
I often don't even know that I had been feeling or experiencing or thinking along these lines, and then - it all falls into place and the words express it beautifully.
Now and again I ponder why I think solitude is such a pleasant way of being; how I feel it nurtures and renews me and is so often what I crave after being in company for a while or in the city too much. I have always known it is never about loneliness, but about something bigger and more beautiful than that.
And so it is.
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| ©2011 Fiona Dempster - Umbakumba lagoon |
"... in the great silence of eternity."
I'm going to let these words float and flow around me for quite some time.
Such lovely words (and image)... Your post echoes the direction of my thoughts this morning as I was rereading sections of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea , a book I always dip in to during periods on my own. AML touches on the importance of solitude throughout the book, and has devoted the 'Moon Shell' chapter to the necessity - and challenges - of making time to be alone in the midst of our busy daily lives. I feel fortunate to be able to carve out time for solitary/creative retreats a few times a year, during my daughter's visits with her father.
ReplyDeleteHappy Contemplating on your mountain...
Hi Lisa, thanks for sharing that book - it sounds rather lovely and I like your 'tradition' of dipping into into it during your time on your own. I know how important it is for me to make sure I have quiet, alone time and how I get frazzled and frayed if I don't. Enjoy your contemplation too...
DeleteThank you Fiona, somehow you tapped into me tonight, as I didn't really want to get back on the computer so late before bed, but here I am - and now I see why. Tingles...
ReplyDeleteOh my, what a lovely moment Louise. I read this just before I went to bed last night as well. Sometimes the connections can somehow really reach out can't they?
DeleteYour Thursday Thoughts always give me a lift - particularly these words and the beautiful image today. Where is Umbakumba Lagoon? - it looks very special...
ReplyDeleteHi Carol - it's nice to know you enjoy the Thursdya Thoughts - must admit I think these words were pretty special too. Umbakumba is a township (about 400 people) at the top of Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria off the Northern Territory of Australia - a remote Aboriginal community. We worked there for a few weeks last year and visited several times. The beauty of the place was astounding. In April and May 2011 I blogged about it - some shots are here - http://paperponderings.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/home-home-on-range.html Truly beautiful. Go well.
DeleteWhat a gift some people have for language Fiona. I find this very emotive as I am not someone who naturally prefers solitude, yet I have it enforced on me through circumstance and I'm now wondering if what I have is actually solitude or maybe loneliness. I need to read this again. You always find something that goes round and round in my head for ages afterwards. How do you do that?
ReplyDeleteHello Lesley - it certainly made me stop and think, but most of it it hit me in the solar plexus and I knew how true it felt. Its good to be able to think about the difference and how at different times we might be lonely; or we might be solitary. Barry and I spend a good part of our walk this morning going over these emotions and the difference between the two states. I hope I don't make your head hurt!
DeleteThis is a wonderful quote to ponder, Fiona. So often when I've traveled alone I found I felt neither separate nor incomplete, rather I felt I belonged to everyone and everything I encountered because I was free to engage and respond from the deepest truest part of me, unmodified by the presence and reactions of another. Loneliness seems such a negative concept - the self defined by what (or who) is missing, and missing out on all that is right here, right now. There is such richness and healing in solitary hours, solitary thoughts, solitary communion with surroundings, and yet I know so many people who simply can't be alone for any period of time, or they begin to lose their sense of self, as if they required the mirror of other people's presence to reassure them they exist or matter. Thank you so much for these words!
ReplyDeleteHi G/TT - it is a wonderful quote to ponder isn't it? I liked your description, as I often feel at peace travelling on my own,being part of the world overall. I also think you caught it well with the description of some folk who always feel 'less than' when they are alone - It would be a real sadness for me to feel that being alone made me lose my self...
DeleteWhat a gorgeous post. I read it yesterday and had it with me through the day, especially the image of the lake which I think sums up your thoughts so well.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie - I'm glad you enjoyed it, it does offer much food for thought ad pondering. I hunted about for an image and I knew when I just looked at that one again that it spoke the message well. Go well, F
DeleteHi F,
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post - sometimes I crave solitude away from myself - how to achieve that?? The image is so beautiful - full of quietness and peace and not the chaos of 'stuff'. N XX
I really loved that lagoon Noela - every part of the day had magical light, and gentle quiet. It justs looks like solitude doesn't it?
DeleteSuch a beautiful quote and your thoughts really 'resonate' with me, as I have long been a fan of solitude.
ReplyDeleteThe photo is stunning, too.
Thanks Jane - its amazing how some words are just so right of ru s isn't it? Glad you enjoyed the words and the image, how ell.
DeleteHi Fiona....these words very much resonate. I'm very much interested in solitude and require huge amounts of it...I love how the space opens up inside, united inner and outer and as the quote says, "connecting with the great silence of eternity"....so essential for many of us! Thank you for this post!
ReplyDeleteAh Patti - the kindred solitude spirits of the world like this one! I love your description of the space opening up inside - it does make you feel limitless or boundless somehow I think...a fascinating thing to ponder in art as well - how to depict, describe, express that expansion?
DeleteGreat thoughts, so perfectly illustrated with your photograph of the sky reflected in the lagoon.
ReplyDeleteThank you Fiona!
So glad you enjoyed the words and the image Anna - I really liked this one too!
DeleteThank you for passing along this beautiful quote. And the photograph is beyond stunning!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gloria - I'm so glad others have appreciated and enjoyed this quote - it seemed to fit my life perfectly and I'm glad it has resonated with others. And yes, the image was just the right one this time...
Delete... and so it is.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed Jo...
Delete