Solitude
June 4, 2010
Loneliness is part of the human condition. There is an intense loneliness that we all feel at times, and that, counter-intuitively, can only be remedied by solitude. It seems we can become so attuned to external stimuli that we lose contact with our own selves, and it is our own self for whom we are lonely.
Of course, we also need interaction with others to grow and develop as persons. But I suspect the threat we face in these times is the loneliness that comes from loss of self. It’s easy to become addicted to external stimuli (other people, computers, iPods, etc.) to the point that doing without them, even temporarily, causes panic. I think this is because the inner self has been forgotten and the person’s whole identity seems to be found in relation only to externals.
Re-discovering the inner self can only happen in solitude, and it requires courage. First one must trust that the inner self is there, where at first glance there is only a void. But even more courage is needed after the inner self is recognized, because we find that it carries every bruise and stain of all the days it has been ignored. Every hurt, every irritation, every fear, every blessing – every thought and experience leaves its residue of feeling. These need to be attended to on a daily basis, and if much time goes by without doing so, they become a loud, chaotic, confused tangle that is emotionally painful to experience.
And yet, experience them all we must, in order to let them transform, through forgiveness or repentance or thankfulness, into integral parts of ourselves, to clear and polish the image of God within, and be able to reflect that image out into the world.
And that brings us to the third reason for needing courage in solitude – because it is in solitude and in this process of self-recognition that solitude brings, that we meet God.
June 5th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Well said, Susan. We are constantly distracted by busyness in this world. But I would say the solution to self-knowledge is the other way around – when we find God and we find ourselves. It is in our daily prayers that God shows us who we truly are.
June 5th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Self knowledge for Christians is finding out who we are in God. Without Him we really are nothing. There is always a balance between the active and contemplative life. We need both. When we act out of solitude, in prayerfulness, with inner sight, we usually do only those things pleasing to the Almighty. I like how you remind us of the need and especially how the self reacts when we have neglected it. Emptiness seems like a hard reality to hold. We think we are empty, yet when we get in there, we find something very different.
June 11th, 2010 at 7:22 am
One of your gifts is expressing abstract truths in concrete ways. I understand that sort of panic you mention, especially when the power goes out. Even when I consciously turn everything off so I can read, my mind is still engaged by an external stimulus. Even when I’m listening to a Christian CD in the car, my mind is still engaged.
You’ve given me much to ponder.
June 11th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Susan, this post is right on target!!! Your ruminations on the need for solitude and the difficulty of actually participating in it, articulate both the nature of both sin/death and the salvation we need.
It is my conviction that most of the Western Church lost its footing in two realms by drifting if not deliberately divorcing itself from the “original vine.” First, it has a fatally skewed understanding or appreciation of the deepest nature and results of sin and death. Second, the inevitable result of such a skewed view is a meager if not faulty understanding of the deepest meaning of God’s “salvific response” to sin and death in Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
All of this is addressed masterfully in Bread & Water, Wine & Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God, by Meletios Webber. An excellent read. I recommend it to all.