Is Solitude Getting You Down? You’ll Get Through This!
“But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in themidst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all yourpaths.” ―Rainer Maria Rilke
We are busy people. Our pace is dizzying. Characterized by longcommutes to work. Traffic jams. Shuttling kids to and from school. Pressured todeliver results. Deadlines. Meetings. Emails. Phone calls. Parties. Our societyis chaotic in its frenzied addiction of the chase―for money, power, fame, and success. Especially success, whatever yourdefinition.
How are you getting along in the strangeness of these times that havenormalized such concepts as ‘social distancing’, ‘self-quarantine’ and‘lockdown’―brought about by the outbreak of the novelcoronavirus disease?
For some, working from home―with schools closed―means being in closer proximity with spouse, kids, and whoever elsemakes up their household. Are you one of these? If so, have you discovered waysto spend quality time together in the vast quantities available to you now? Orare you already missing the relative solitude of your office?
If you live on your own, or if you have had to self-quarantine, theheightened level of solitude may be beyond anything you’ve ever experienced. Weare, after all, social creatures, and many of us are not accustomed to extendedperiods of alone time. Even the introvert enjoys being alone in the context ofhaving made the choice to be alone. No one enjoys forced solitude.
Perhaps you’re beginning to feel like a hermit?
For religious and other reasons, hermits seek solitude in remote andisolated locations―caves, mountains, desert, forest cabins, the like. The first knownhermit, according to legend, was Paul of Thebes, who lived in a mountain cavein an Egyptian desert around 250 A.D. Providentially, there was a spring and apalm tree near ‘his’ cave. The spring became his source of water while the palmtree provided the food and clothing he needed.
How long would you survive such a lifestyle? Well, Paul did it forabout 100 years, so the legend goes.
We too shall survive the solitude imposed on us by the coronaviruspandemic.
Or not so? Because this solitude is not our choice, and because we areall anxious about the unfolding events―our health and the health of loved ones―we might end up stress-eatingor drinking; or spending too much time sitting on the couch channel surfing andon social media. By the end of the day, we may be more exhausted, and worried.Not the best of feelings.
But you can also purpose to take care of your mind, body and spirit.Here are a few things you can do to achieve this:
Read a book you’ve always wanted toread but never got round to. Online libraries like archive.org arefree to join and borrow e-books. Maybe classics like Of Mice and Men or Things Fall Apart, or morerecent works you haven’t yet read, like The Testaments – the 2019 BookerPrize winner.
Laugh. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but it’sokay to laugh. It relieves tension and boosts your immune system. Watch a funnymovie or re-runs of stand-up comedies. If you’ve watched anything funny or thatcheered you up, let someone else know, it will cheer them up (let us know inthe comments as well).
Exercise. This is important if you can’t leave the house.Put on a workout video, or jump rope, or just turn on some music and dance for 20-40minutes.
Talk to God. Really talk; without ascript. Even if you’re not sure if you believe in Him. Either He actually hearsyou, which is amazing, or you will have gotten a few things off your chest.
What else are you doing to thrive in your solitude? Remember, you’re not alone. We’re all in this together. And we shall come through it. Meanwhile, take all the care you can!
Copyright ©2020 by David Waweru. Photoby Retha Ferguson from Pexels.