Quite often life has been about embracing our own internal fortitude in solitude. After every episode of difficulty, the reiterating lesson is often the realisation that while love and companionship are blessings, an honest lesson of evolution is one that requires us to dig inside our own internal resources for elevation. How do we live this life balancing between the need to protect and nurture our strength and independence, while at the same time staying vulnerable and open to needing another/ others? I admit, I quite often romanticize the notion of being a lone wolf. The one that lives without hoping for another’s approval or affection, the one that can walk through the world unharmed by the sacrifice and vulnerability of intimacy. In reality, it is less an Indiana Jones exotic life one will live but that of saving for an old folks retirement home, of seeing the lives of your contemporaries full of legacies and companionship while you return to your books and journals and causes you believe in. Will that be so empty and meaningless a life? Or will it be one that can produce its own contentment and satisfaction? Is it possible to find value outside how our own DNA is programmed to function? The prayer is of course, to be ready, for whatever it is that life throws at you. To find beauty and power, in your present life, even when it doesn’t look like the picture you had in your head. Being partnered to another means nothing if it is ultimately, a profoundly dysfunctional relationship. Having children can cause endless sorrow when the conditions of your family are toxic and unfulfilling. Being part of a large community and network can be suffocating and hollow if it’s not based on something valuable and enduring. With Sakamoto’s ‘Solitude’ in my ears, I keep wondering about this constantly shifting formula of our inner state of being. The fact is, we entered this world and will depart from it in solitude. Everything else in between is merely a distraction, isn’t it.. an anesthetic to numb the inherent loneliness of life.
Looking for The Higher Self 
Great share! I resonate with a lot of your musings here, and I secretly wonder if you might be a fellow INFJ type? I very much resonate with the notion of needing enough space to be in my own company, to muse, reflect, create, go within, process… I also deeply understand how challenging it can be to create a solid network of friends etc when we move around a lot… and how becoming more and more self-reliant can become a new way of life through this experience. And I, too, share your opinion that everything has its light and darker aspects, including family, children, and friendships, which is a perspective that is not well represented in the media! Thank you for your honesty and authenticity! Big hug 🙂
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read and discuss so sweetly… I’m not sure what INFJ but will surely look it up now… yes, I think you’re right when saying that moving around a lot for years triggers a sense of self-internalisation… though sometimes veering on the darker side… apologies in advance but the Covid lockdown has definitely tinged my reflections with a bit of melancholia.. 🙂 Hugs!
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My pleasure! INFJ is a category of the Myers-Briggs personality types, I found it quite insightful to do the test (online and for free as I recall…) No need to apologize dear, I totally understand. Intense collective times! Hugs from Spain 🙂
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Very interesting and will definitely get to the test soon!
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Hello Maria Elena and lookingforthehigherself,
This is indeed a lovely post with a sensitive and thoughtful message to convey through “Reflections on Solitude”. Thank you.
I would like to echo the words of Maria, and I have enjoyed listening to the solo piano piece entitled “Solitude” by Sakamoto Ryuichi.
By the way, the Myers-Briggs personality test has been debunked and is unreliable, as far as I know.
Social distancing can increase solitude. As we maintain spatial distancing and stay home to avoid contracting and spreading the coronavirus, please kindly allow SoundEagle🦅 the pleasure to entertain you and your family with a bespoke poem and music recently published in the multimedia post entitled 🎼🎹—THE—🎹—LAST—🎹—RAG—🎹🎵🎶, where the featured composition can be enjoyed and studied in multiple formats available to you as the audio playbacks, the video captures of score with music, and the gallery of score sheets.
The post is available for you to enjoy at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2020/04/12/the-last-rag/
Please be informed that you might need to use a desktop or laptop computer with a large screen to view the rich multimedia contents available for heightening your multisensory enjoyment at my blog, which could be too powerful and feature-rich for iPad, iPhone, tablet or other portable devices to handle properly or adequately.
Since music can be an essential part of the process of sustainability, wellbeing, healing and even social change and spiritual awakening, may SoundEagle🦅’s music and poem in the said post bring you some creative “distractions” or “diversions” amidst the disruptions and woes engendered by the pandemic.
Happy reading and listening!
Yours sincerely,
ჱܓSoundEagle🦅
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Hi SoundEagle.. it is so kind of you to comment and share your perspectives on solitude and how the global pandemic has affected our general sense of being. I enjoyed your poem and music too – it was very soothing and uplifting, a great way to start the day. Do keep it going, am sure it will help many others. Have a lovely day!
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Dear lookingforthehigherself,
You are very welcome! Since you have listened to and enjoyed the music, I would be grateful if you could also provide your feedback at the said post containing the two versions of my music.
If you would like to save time, you could simply copy and paste part(s) or all of your previous comment to your forthcoming comment for the said post and perhaps add more if you have something extra to say. Thank you in anticipation.
Happy July to you!
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Thank you dear SoundEagle, I very much enjoyed your song and poem, as well as your thoughtful and meaningful comments this week! Btw, LOVE the Maria Elena song:) hehe. Blessings to you!
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Hello there. Generally speaking, we’re social animals at heart. But we each need our space too, some more than others. See ya.
Neil S.
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Hi Neil 😊 We are indeed… I guess this was an ode to the ones who have lost/ struggling to be part of the social pact ☺️
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Great post, I am reading Walden by Thoreau now and find myself often thinking about the distinction between loneliness and solitude. In my view, it is all about finding the balance between solitude and social interaction
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Hey thank you so much for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. I think you’re right- that balance is critical in ensuring that solitude remains healthy…
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Wonderful creation 👍
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Thanks alot for dropping by ☺️
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