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“Solitude, I reflected, is the one deep necessity of the human spirit to which adequate recognition is never given in our codes. It is looked upon as a discipline or penance, but hardly ever as the indispensable, pleasant ingredient it is to ordinary life, and from this want of recognition come half of our domestic troubles. The fear of an unbroken tête-à-tête for the rest of his life should, you would think, prevent any man from getting married.”
–Freya Stark, The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels
January 19th, 2012 at 10:00 am
It is unfortunate that people may confuse solitude with loneliness. In the spiritual discipline of solitude you are in the company of multitudes, all that company of mortals and immortals who have ever crossed your mind, now present before you and from whose company your attention had for so long been distracted by the clamor of people around you. In loneliness you experience emptiness; in solitude you are filled up. One of the rewards of travel is solitude, not merely on mountain tops or desolate places, but even in the midst of crowds whose language you may not understand and who you imagine are ignoring you.
January 22nd, 2012 at 1:08 am
[...] Potts shared this lovely quote over on Vagablogging this week: “Solitude, I reflected, is the one deep necessity of the human spirit to which adequate [...]