SOLITUDE
It may be my
imagination, or I may be thinking for only myself, but still I wonder? Does everyone have a
special place they go for solitude? I think we, as humans all need and have
that sort of a place at one time or another in our lives.
And who says it has to be that place all of our life? Can a certain place of quiet and tranquility change with our age, or where we live, or any of many reasons as our lives evolve.
I know when I was in my teen age years I liked solitude, but I also had some special friends and we hung out together. Many time we would just go to one of our quiet places and hang out, laugh and talk. Could that be classed as solitude, or does solitude have to be a quiet time in a quiet place? Personally I don't think it has to be totally quiet, with only one or two people there. I think solitude is more of a frame of mind, and a peaceful frame of mind.
I have known people who want solitude because of something sorrowful that has happened to them, however that also might be classified as grief, which seems to be the exact opposite of peaceful solitude. But how many times have you had a person say. "I DON"T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT."
It seems my favorite place for solitude as a youth was the mountains, and it still is one of my favorite places. There is something special about a quiet time by a stream or a lake that calms me down and helps me relax.
Does that make me a loner? No, I don't think so. In fact because I enjoy it so much I think it is the exact opposite from being a loner.
The only thing that comes close (for me) to complete relaxation, laying on the grass by a stream, is laying or sitting in our mountain cabin, with rain pounding on the tin roof. It is so relaxing that it is almost mesmerizing.
I recall one time after my wife had passed away, I was having a case of "memory nerves." I did not know what to do with myself so I got in the car ( which both my sister and I have learned calms us down) and just headed south. I planned on going to our mountain cabin to meditate, but I did not make it there.
As I was driving past Mona, Utah (a small town in Utah) I saw the Lavender fields, for acres and acres and decided to stop and smell the lavender and to enjoy the whole west side of the valley. It looked like a small purple world all to it's own.
It kind of reminded me of the old saying to 'stop and smell the roses'. The smell was wonderful and the purple sight was beautiful.
After sitting in the car for an hour or so, I turned around and headed north, completely relaxed and my mood very much improved.
When I reached my mid-life crisis time, I found that solitude did not always have to be quiet and that I could actually relax and enjoy myself in a noisy place. I am not sure you can actually call it solitude, but I did find some noisy things relaxing.
I bought some snowmobiles and 4-wheeler's, for the main purpose of enjoying the cabin all year. Yes it was enjoyable all year. Was there solitude with those machines running around---yes, it was enjoyable, but I think it would be a --stretch to call it solitude.
If solitude means being alone , it for sure does not fit going alone, anyplace at any time on an ATV. (But that may be "fodder" for another blog?)
As we got older, (and hopefully wiser) both Donnie and I come to realize there really was no solitude and peace of mind, like sitting quietly in a Temple and meditating. I realized that it was not only a great place to sit and relax, but it also was a wonderful place to go and get help solving problems, little ones and big ones. We did not always solve all of our problems, but we usually ended up with peace of mind, and that almost always brought solitude with it.
It is funny how things come to your mind when you sit and concentrate on one word -- like solitude? It brought something to my mind that I had not thought about for years. Donnie always liked pets but she thought pets should live outside (and of course in our younger days that was the norm.) I have always liked dogs, but it was not always easy to have one as Donnie did not want them in the house. However that all changed when a big Dalmatian, named Max, came to live with us for a while.
Donnie said,"If he barks he is gone! He lives outside! And I agreed to her terms and he came to stay with us. However it only took a couple of weeks for her to agree that it was to cold for Max to stay outside at night. She thought it was OK for him to stay inside at night.
Well he stayed in the basement at night for a couple of weeks, then he moved into the house, in the daytime, if it was "really cold,"
Then I came home one day and Max did not meet me at the door. Donnie kind of whispered--I am downstairs.
As soon as I got down she put her finger to her lips to "shush" me. Max was laying on her feet sound asleep, and she looked at me and explained that he was really warm and he had kept her feet warm while she did her crafts and crochet'ed. Of course he had the run of the house after that.
Why did this thought come to mind when I was trying to concentrate on solitude? I guess because I thought the sight of Max laying on Donnie's feet and her "shushing" me was pure solitude.
And the picture below is REAL Solitude. Who do you think is more relaxed--The Grandpa or the baby in the swing?
W.R. Baldwin 1 Nov 2017
It seems my favorite place for solitude as a youth was the mountains, and it still is one of my favorite places. There is something special about a quiet time by a stream or a lake that calms me down and helps me relax.
Does that make me a loner? No, I don't think so. In fact because I enjoy it so much I think it is the exact opposite from being a loner.
The only thing that comes close (for me) to complete relaxation, laying on the grass by a stream, is laying or sitting in our mountain cabin, with rain pounding on the tin roof. It is so relaxing that it is almost mesmerizing.
I recall one time after my wife had passed away, I was having a case of "memory nerves." I did not know what to do with myself so I got in the car ( which both my sister and I have learned calms us down) and just headed south. I planned on going to our mountain cabin to meditate, but I did not make it there.
As I was driving past Mona, Utah (a small town in Utah) I saw the Lavender fields, for acres and acres and decided to stop and smell the lavender and to enjoy the whole west side of the valley. It looked like a small purple world all to it's own.
It kind of reminded me of the old saying to 'stop and smell the roses'. The smell was wonderful and the purple sight was beautiful.
After sitting in the car for an hour or so, I turned around and headed north, completely relaxed and my mood very much improved.
When I reached my mid-life crisis time, I found that solitude did not always have to be quiet and that I could actually relax and enjoy myself in a noisy place. I am not sure you can actually call it solitude, but I did find some noisy things relaxing.
I bought some snowmobiles and 4-wheeler's, for the main purpose of enjoying the cabin all year. Yes it was enjoyable all year. Was there solitude with those machines running around---yes, it was enjoyable, but I think it would be a --stretch to call it solitude.
If solitude means being alone , it for sure does not fit going alone, anyplace at any time on an ATV. (But that may be "fodder" for another blog?)
As we got older, (and hopefully wiser) both Donnie and I come to realize there really was no solitude and peace of mind, like sitting quietly in a Temple and meditating. I realized that it was not only a great place to sit and relax, but it also was a wonderful place to go and get help solving problems, little ones and big ones. We did not always solve all of our problems, but we usually ended up with peace of mind, and that almost always brought solitude with it.
It is funny how things come to your mind when you sit and concentrate on one word -- like solitude? It brought something to my mind that I had not thought about for years. Donnie always liked pets but she thought pets should live outside (and of course in our younger days that was the norm.) I have always liked dogs, but it was not always easy to have one as Donnie did not want them in the house. However that all changed when a big Dalmatian, named Max, came to live with us for a while.
Donnie said,"If he barks he is gone! He lives outside! And I agreed to her terms and he came to stay with us. However it only took a couple of weeks for her to agree that it was to cold for Max to stay outside at night. She thought it was OK for him to stay inside at night.
Well he stayed in the basement at night for a couple of weeks, then he moved into the house, in the daytime, if it was "really cold,"
Then I came home one day and Max did not meet me at the door. Donnie kind of whispered--I am downstairs.
As soon as I got down she put her finger to her lips to "shush" me. Max was laying on her feet sound asleep, and she looked at me and explained that he was really warm and he had kept her feet warm while she did her crafts and crochet'ed. Of course he had the run of the house after that.
Why did this thought come to mind when I was trying to concentrate on solitude? I guess because I thought the sight of Max laying on Donnie's feet and her "shushing" me was pure solitude.
And the picture below is REAL Solitude. Who do you think is more relaxed--The Grandpa or the baby in the swing?
W.R. Baldwin 1 Nov 2017
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