Today you have another opportunity to consider the advantages of spending some time in solitude. When you are alone, you aren’t truly alone. You are spending time with God.
You don’t have to be a believer to feel the power of this statement. God can be anything you want it to be. God may be the power of the universe or the power of the potential that lies within you. God might be all of the things you have yet to learn. You get to pick your image or understanding of God when you spend time alone. No one will tell you you’re doing it wrong.
When you sit in solitude, you get to tap into your intuition and let your dreams flow without being inhibited by the influence of others. You get to taste your true potential when you spend time alone. If you are skeptical, practice being by yourself and see what happens. Many people find that some of their greatest innovations float to the surface when they take the time to seek out a quiet place to be by themselves for awhile. Solitude also allows you to slow down for just a moment. It’s incredibly refreshing to stop doing for awhile and just be.
Your assignment is to spend at least twenty minutes alone today and ponder your own understanding of God. Enjoy your solitude.
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Sophia lived the life of a typical working mother in the twenty-first century. Her day was a swirl of cell phones, computers, commuting, kids, and family. Her hectic schedule was not unique. Sophia’s fears and hopes were much the same as anyone else’s. But Sophia seemed a little more “together” than her counterparts at corporate meetings and soccer games. What was her secret? It was a love affair . . . with solitude. She made a date with solitude every single day.
Helen Hayes makes a very good point in the quote above. We live in a tense society. Thanks in part to technology, we are capable of rocketing through life at lightning speed. Our speedy society also has the power to pull us in a million different directions at once. A whole host of distractions compete for our attention at any given minute.
The good news is that there is a solution, and that solution is solitude. Sophia spent at least thirty minutes every morning by herself. Sometimes she listened to music, other times she read a book, and every once in awhile she just listened to her own breathing. She used that quiet time to pull herself together, to take the scattered pieces of her life and collect them again so that she felt whole. When she took some time to be alone each morning, she was given a gift of serenity and a new inner power to face the day.
Have you incorporated some alone time into your schedule yet? If you haven’t, make it a priority today. You may be very surprised to find out how it affects the rest of your day.
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For the last several days you’ve heard about the advantages of solitude. Today you will have a chance to entertain your thoughts on the negative side effects of spending too much time alone. Even a good idea can go bad if you take it too far.
The quote above is funny, but it also has a bit of truth hidden within the humor. Spending some time alone is healthy. Spending too much time alone can make you crazy as a loon.
Your assignment is to take a few weeks and find the right balance for you. Jot down some notes in your journal every day about the percentage of time you spend with others and the percentage of time you spend alone. Then rate the success of your day. Did you feel annoyed at the end of the day, because it seemed like everyone was bothering you all the time? Did you long for a little quiet time? Or did you find yourself talking to the cat one afternoon, because you had not seen another human in several days?
Pay attention to the days that feel balanced and happy, and look at what you did to make that day successful. If you simply jot down a few notes each day, you will probably see a pattern emerge. You know intuitively what you need to stay healthy and sane. Pay attention to your internal warning signs, and then take charge of your schedule and create the environment that works best for you.
