It’s Tough To Find Quiet Today
by Jonathan Hilton Day 65
As our society has evolved to produce more and more entertainment for people to enjoy, the moments available for actual individual, creative thought have become few and far between.
I know that personally, there were times where I was entertained during every moment of my free time. It was common to turn the television on immediately when I got home to add noise to a quiet house, to having music playing all night long to, “help me sleep”, it was a non-stop bombardment of my senses that was actually distracting me from engaging in any original thought at all.
When you look at how our young people choose to live life, it is even worse, between Ipods, computers, video games and television, there is very little left for the imagination to do for them. They are living an amusement park ride of the senses, allowing for outside influences to supply the entertainment, not developing their individual thoughts or imagination. This is not everybody, but a large portion of the youth today.
Finding Your Thoughts In The Quiet
Solitude is not a dirty word. As we are developing as people, it seems like you are constantly judged by how many friends you have and that if you are ever by yourself then you must have a problem.
That is not true, what you need to develop is an ability to be by yourself and to use that time not as a sign of social dissatisfaction, but to use it as a time to develop your individual creativity and thoughts.
It is in this time alone that you will be able to find your original thoughts and understand the many experiences that you have. If you find a quiet time without any distraction and allow your mind to work unfettered by any outside influence, you will experience original thoughts, no matter how intelligent you feel you are.
You will find your own thoughts in the quiet times. You will be surprised what you will be able to create and understand in that time all by yourself. You will find many of the things that you are passionate about as well as being able to glean wisdom and understanding from the experiences you have had throughout your life. You will also start to really notice all of the rich details in the things around you that previously you were oblivious to.
Knowing Yourself is The Ultimate Reward For Solitude
Probably the best thing that finding a little solitude will give you is a much deeper understanding of yourself. What makes you happy? What makes you sad? You will find the things that make you smile, and the things that break your heart.
There are many things that people like to do with others and you need to have contact with many people to be a well rounded individual. But I also think that it is important to find moments of pure solitude so that you understand what parts of yourself you have to offer to others.
So challenge yourself to find some moments of solitude, and to think original thoughts that are yours and yours alone. All of those in your life will appreciate you and your unique thoughts more than you can imagine. Give it a try.
Quotes on Solitude:
“Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character.” ~James Russell Lowell
” Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a quiet in a crowded day—-like writing a poem or saying a prayer. What matters is that one be for a time inwardly attentive.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.” ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
“In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us.” ~ Virginia Woolf
‘In meditation it is possible to dive deeper into the mind to a place where there is no disturbance and there is absolute solitude. It is at this point in the profound stillness that the sound of the mind can be heard.” ~A.E.I. Falconar
“O Solitude, the soul’s best friend, That man acquainted with himself dost make.” ~Charles Cotton
“Solitude is the nurse of enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is the true parent of genius.” ~ Isaac D’Israeli
“One of the pleasantest things in the world is going on a journey; but I like to go by myself.” ~William Hazlitt
“I am sure of this, that by going much alone a man will get more of a noble courage in thought and word than from all the wisdom that is in books.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why Solitude?