How do you make the most of time by yourself? What’s your relationship with solitude? Where do you find easy access to your creativity?

You’ve probably known someone who couldn’t stand being alone. Or perhaps you’ve encountered a real loner somewhere in your travels. Folks at the extremes earn raised eyebrows.

If you’re like me, you probably fall somewhere in between. We humans exist in the context of other people. Being part of humanity means having relationships.

Here’s an easy riddle: Which relationship is the key to all the others? (The one you have with yourself, of course.)

Which brings us to the idea of solitude and the ‘epidemic of loneliness’ we hear about. It’s a subtle difference, so it might be helpful to look for the doorway between the two.

Henry Rollins put it like this: “Sitting in a room, alone, listening to a CD is to be lonely. Sitting in a room, alone, next to an LP crackling away on the turntable is to enjoy the sublime state of solitude.”

Aside from the nod to the idea that analog media is a carrier wave of consciousness, the Black Flag frontman rightly defines solitude as sublime.

To be lonely is to feel a lack. To be anxious, uncomfortable, — caught up in constrictive feelings of guilt or shame or anger. Searching for something, anything, that can change the feelings inside. Boredom is often a symptom.

Solitude, on the other hand, can be an expansive space for self-discovery. A place where answers are revealed and ideas bubble to the surface. Where feelings of gratitude, enoughness, and acceptance flow easily. Creativity has room to grow.

Loneliness loves distraction, destruction, diversion. Solitude requires subtraction. To paraphrase Yoda: Massive amounts of input does not inner peace make.

Having other people in your life means getting along with them. Doing that comes from learning how to get along with yourself. The sublime state of solitude is one place where that can happen, and creativity can be a clue that the door is open a crack.

When you’re at peace, it’s easier to ride the waves and enjoy the texture between the peaks and valleys. As my brother likes to quip, “Don’t fall off your surfboard!”

A week ago we were deep in the midst of an epic art event, with several friends and family members along for the duration. Several days later it’s just the hum of the bees and the wind in the trees. The waves ebb and flow, high times are on the horizon.

And so goes the dance, may your highs and lows be sweet and sublime!

Merci et à bientôt!

M+

ML #698

Mark Metz
Monday Love Movement Calendar