The Benefits of Solitude

"Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends, rather than mob merriment, noise and thousands of nodding acquaintances." - William Powell

In this connected world it seems people just can't tolerate solitude. Their worse fear is being alone or missing out.

Hence, they're either texting, whiling away the day on Facebook or feverishly looking for "friends" to "hang out" with. And yet, despite their Androids, they're "bored."

Good grief!

Content of the mind means little to them but let someone make a derogatory remark on Facebook and their "friends" respond with foul language and threats of physical harm.

If this country's electrical grid crashes for more than one minute I fear the "connected" ones will commit mass suicide. The tragedy is, 11 year olds end their lives because they've been "unfriended" or bullied for having the courage to be differnt from the navel gazing know-it-all sloths - some dressed as goths.

It's a mad, mad world out there and the more often I visit it, the more convinced I am that it's saner to stay home.

I've curtailed most of my activities to the point that each "important" or "urgent" event sends shivers through my spine.

Maybe I'm just tired or physically unfit.

Maybe I just don't give a damn anymore.

Racing around in overdrive trying to capture every moment on my cell phone camera and send the message out into the world while breathlessly hoping I haven't missed too many calls isn't being "connected" to my fellow human beings - or myself!

Sitting in my chair in silence, listening to my raspy breathe and allowing my thoughts to reach consciousness and feeling my body's reaction gives me more information about what's truly important than any gadget.

Performing the simple, everyday actions of feeding our animals, sweeping the floor, preparing a meal with wholesome, fresh ingredients and savoring each bite or watching the sunset while sipping herbal tea nourishes me. The clamour, busyness and constant chatter of the world serves no healthy purpose - unless it becomes so deafening that you wake up in time to save yourself from the lock-step morons.