Tag Archives: Solitude

22

The Benefits of Your Stillness

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The stillness of life is going to provide all people with significant benefits. No matter where you go to find it, the peace and tranquility of time spent relaxing your body and retreating in your mind from the hustle of everyday life can calm your nerves and revitalize your brain. Seek out the places that are special to your heart and your soul. Quiet contemplation is essential for all people’s development as human beings. Finding a balance between time with others and time for yourself is one of the significant learning challenges of life. Here is a look at the benefits that can come from moments of meditation or simple stillness when we breathe more deeply, see more fully, hear more acutely, and find an understanding of who we are.

Reboot the Brain

One of the most significant benefits of time alone is that it allows you to reboot your brain. Thoughts are coming at you in rapid-fire succession, and being able to step back and look at the ideas you have been entertaining allows you to stop focusing on the ones that are not serving you and your life and focus on the things you want to be a priority. Unwinding and revamping are great uses of time for yourself.

This will also allow your brain to improve its work by increasing your ability to concentrate and focus your thoughts. Hone in on the ideas that resonate with you and move you toward the experiences you want. A higher level of productivity will result from having some alone time. Goals are created, and the path to accomplishing them is formed in these moments spent in quiet contemplation of our lives.

Creates Better Relationships

Having time to yourself makes your relationships better. Without time to create and think about ways to improve your life, stagnation is the only other option. Interacting with others brings new perspectives into your life, and time to yourself helps you evaluate all your views. By knowing yourself better and liking who that person is, you have much more to bring back to a relationship in caring, kindness, experiences, thoughts, and words. All are increased by having time to think by yourself.

Alone time allows you to increase your ability to practice empathy toward other people and their situations in life. In times of deep thought, an understanding can help you know what will make you happy and allow all things in your life to move with more synchronicity. When problems do exist, this is time to work through them from the thoughts you have, the emotions they elicit, and what action to take to alleviate the pain you may be in. Bringing these discoveries back to your relationships creates more honest and powerful connections with others.

Finding Your Balance

This can be a difficult thing to do. Either we spend too much time with others, allowing no time to ourselves, or we are trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of being by ourselves, looking for more connections. There is a healthy balance I think we are all striving for. It all begins, I believe, with accepting who you are and liking that person. Never feel wrong about the things you enjoy doing. If they don’t hurt anyone, do them freely and joyfully. Follow your interests, and you will also meet people with similar interests.

For all things, there is time. A time to be alone and a time to have company and understand what works for you will lead to your happiness. Society would like to tell you what they think, but I urge you not to listen to societal messages. We are all individual programs; what works for someone else and makes them happy will not work for me. Too often, people feel something is wrong with them if they don’t fit into a specific mold. Fit into your mold. Be yourself and find the time to develop your person and the life you want to live. Find the stillness and listen to the voice within you when you are there.

“All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.”-Eckhart Tolle.

“The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest.”-Bruce Lee.

“Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind become still.
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.
They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is nature’s way.”-Laozi.

 

22

Finding Refuge

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Refuge-a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble.

One of the advantages of growing up and living in a place like Maine is the connection you develop to the locations you come in contact with, which provide you with a relationship to nature and a link to who you are and what your life stands for. There are many unique places I have connected with over the years, and to go there, spend time, and think that brings back my history and the events of my life. These places provide me with a refuge. safe to develop who I am and help me piece together how I fit into this world. All thinking, people have places they go to strip away the junk the world heaps on a person as life rolls on and sometimes over us. Being able to think and put things into the proper perspective for ourselves is the purpose of developing a place that provides you with refuge and, hopefully, peace.

A Connection to Nature

Some of the best places for refuge I have found have been in spots where there is a natural connection. I again am fortunate to live in an area with many opportunities like this to take advantage of. There are lakes, rivers, and the ocean readily available and waiting for you to reflect on them. There is a powerful feeling of awe when you can sit and look into something that has been there for thousands of years, and you know you are just one of a million passing visitors. The problems we are facing today always seem a bit smaller when we visit something that existed long before we were born and will be there long after we have left this life. It provides a perspective that generates gratitude. A shadow of my thoughts and feelings will be left there to touch some other visitor at another time. I often feel if I close my eyes and listen hard, I can hear the thoughts of those that have come before me. All have a burden, hope, and dreams to share, even if nature is the only one who hears.

I know I often get weighed down by the events I experience daily and need to let them go, and a bit of time in one of these places of refuge allows me to focus, relax, and reaffirm my priorities about what is truly important to me. We all have down moments in life where our negative emotions get us, and usually when we get our priorities mixed up, putting ourselves at the center of our focus. Visits to nature give me the chance to put the focus where it should be, outside of myself. Remember that the things we are leaving behind are small in the end, and it is the kindness we show to others and the love we give to them that will matter. I learned this lesson in places of natural refuge.

Refuge of Creativity

Rather than a physical place, one of the best places I have found peace and recovery is through the power of creativity. For me, it is in writing. There is a connection between my heart and mind that can come out in the process of writing, and I could not be very balanced without it. Often I write about the things I am working on to clarify it to myself, and sometimes it is to say to the world, “This is what I am feeling, how about you?”  No matter the purpose, creativity allows me to take a negative mood and turn it into more positive energy.

I have written all sorts of things and have gotten into writing something on most days. A refuge that sometimes I take for granted. Then I remember what it was like before I had this outlet, and I feel both grateful for my expressions and hopeful that other people will find their place of creative expression. Even if your feelings are just for yourself, let them happen because they are a part of you. Your emotions come out in artistic creation, and you feel better about everything. Create and find the refuge your mind crafts for you. Bringing something into existence from the recesses of your thought is a powerful and beautiful gift, and it makes all of the world a better place.

Everyday Refuge

Each day we find the places and activities which allow us to be our best selves. For me, I find refuge in the gym and working out. It keeps me centered emotionally and will enable me to keep myself feeling good physically. I also have a refuge at Panera Bread, where I have been coming to write for years. It has people, if you want that, food, but most of all, it has an energy that is welcoming and gives you a great place to think unencumbered. These two things do it for me, but I am sure that if you look at your life, there are everyday places and activities you participate in that allow you to be the best you can be.

I often wonder what great places I will discover in the future to think great thoughts or learn about life. Each moment is an opportunity to figure it all out and move forward in your existence with a plan that will bring you all the money, fame, and success you dream of. That is why we imagine. Places of refuge allow us the chance to build the momentum of thought and action to bring it all into reality.

Our Dreams

To dream about the things you want to create and experience is the essence of life. What has ever been made of value that was first not just a dream in someone’s head? All things ever were built this way. A person is in a situation where something is lacking, and they create a thought to make it better. It could be a drawing, a business idea, a new invention, a plan to build the world’s most giant ball of twine. Whatever the dream, it provides us with a secure refuge from the world’s terrors.

Those people who never dream or, worse yet, discourage all others from giving up their dreams are the worst kind of reality. Society will tell you to give up, put your feet firmly on the ground and forget about those dreams. They are all a lot of hot air about nothing. But in reality, they are the springboard to your greatness—the elevator to the top of your desires. I hope you are the best tomorrow. Anyone who would discourage this or try to destroy it needs to be avoided. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and encourage you to dream. All of your dreams may not work out in the way you plan, but your life will be better for taking refuge in them, if only for a moment. Dream about it and take action to make it all happen in reality. You never know what magic you can accomplish by taking your refuge snugly and entirely inside your dreams.

So take a moment today and look at the places and things that provide you the condition of being safe or sheltered from the world’s dangers. Please take a moment and be grateful for these beautiful places and things because they allow you to be the best. If you choose to move to a different location, and all of your current safe places are taken away, one of the first things you should do is find new ones. I think for all of us to be our best person. We need to have our places and things that allow us to express ourselves. What provides you with a refuge? Do you appreciate it? It all starts with the thoughts you are safe to think because of your sanctuary. The words you consciously choose will explain your place, and the actions taken will be the truth of the situation. Be safe and find your refuge today.

“The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, a place I’ve always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It’s been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It’s a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.”-Michael Jordan 

“A true friend encourages us, comforts us, supports us like a big easy chair, offering us a safe refuge from the world.”- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed – my dearest pleasure when free.”- Mary Shelley

 

Questions

Seeking Yourself

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It’s Tough To Find Quiet Today

Seek Moments of Solitude
No Man is an Island

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

time for solitude
Solitude

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

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