Читать книгу The Wisdom of Wildflowers - Heather Robbins - Страница 10

The aspen grove is quiet and still this morning. Only the occasional trill from the Savannah Sparrows filters through the calm. I know I am not entirely alone in this beautiful place.

The air is redolent from the fertile loam, inviting my lungs to drink in the delightfully rich breath of nature. On the matted forest floor I find a Western Canada Violet poking its timid little head out from a crowd of heart-shaped leaves. Five creamy-white petals cling together at a center point, with dark veins radiating subtle bursts of tawny brown and gray from the middle. This violet has chosen a very tranquil and secluded place to make its home. It is this seclusion that enables it to survive.

Sweet, sweet solitude. How many of us dream of periods of quiet calmness in which to rest our frantic minds and bodies? Or of a time when life slows down for an hour so we can get our thoughts in order? Even if we achieve that, some of us are afraid to be alone for very long because that might mean we are not wanted, that we are ignored by the world, that we have been shut out. No one wants to be left out or forgotten, and while we yearn for some alone time, many of us also resist the urge to be on our own for very long.

We have always been social beings. Our ancestors traveled in packs because traveling alone meant they were vulnerable to attack from another tribe or perhaps an animal. They knew there was safety in numbers. Today we carry that primordial instinct to remain with the group, and even though we do not need to fear a lion attack when we are on our own, many of us are still uncomfortable with solitude. We have now replaced the lions with the societal expectations of remaining constantly connected to other people.

In this day and age it is so easy to avoid solitude. We are perpetually connected to the world through our cell phones, social media, and the television remote. What will people say if we choose to be on our own instead of caught up in the flush of society? What will people think if we decide not to “do lunch” or volunteer for a half dozen charities? How will it look if we sit by ourselves in the park? No one wants to be branded a “loner,” so we fill our lives with activities and noises to dispel all thoughts of aloneness. We want to show the world that we are popular and wanted. We want to convince ourselves of the same.

And yet, spending time quietly on our own is so important and necessary for our well-being. Solitude is not the same as being lonely. Loneliness happens when we are scattered and disconnected from ourselves and our Creator. By comparison, solitude paves the way for our mind, body, and spirit to unite and recharge, and allows us to connect to God and listen to his subtle guidance. We need to focus inward on who we are, and begin to reintroduce and reconnect all the parts of our being. Solitude helps to make us complete and whole.

Being alone gives us the time and space needed to process the events of our lives. It allows us to reflect on how we are doing, what we are thinking, how we are feeling, and where we want to go in life. As we journey along life’s path, there are things that take time to reveal themselves to us, but if we do not slow down and pay attention to those directions, we may miss them completely. When we are quiet, we can more easily hear the inspired song that our heart and soul are singing. We cannot hear these important messages when we are standing in a crowded room with our attention being pulled to and fro, or frantically scrolling through social media so we will not miss anything.

Solitude is necessary for our physical, mental, and emotional health, so we should not be concerned what other people think or say about our occasional seclusions. When we take the time to recharge our batteries, we will be stronger because of it.

Solitude is the opportunity for us to really know and understand the magnificent woman we see every day in the mirror. We will discover our strengths and weaknesses, understand what we need to work on, and know what we can let go. Clarity comes from being quiet and still. Our alone time will help liberate all mental and physical stresses, and make us less vulnerable in the world. Being confident, calm, and having self-awareness gives us a strength that no lion would dare challenge.

As the story of the Western Canada Violet whispers to us, let’s make some time in our lives for solitude.