I believe in the power of solitude. Solitude can take many forms, from running along a quiet road to sitting at your window and watching the rain pour. The kind of solitude I am referring to is not the same that is forced on a person in solitary confinement, but instead the kind that is sought after.
Solitude is defined as “the state of being or living alone; seclusion.” Simply put, that’s what solitude is: being alone. It does not mean being lonely, nor is it comparable to a dry, barren desert, as the dictionary would like to make me believe. It is merely being alone, like taking a walk deep in a lush forest. It means far more than all the common definitions and misconceptions.
At times, I am guilty of rushing through things mindlessly just to make it to the end of the day. I compromise myself to accomplish something or to please someone. I am overwhelmed by my surroundings, and am isolated despite the many people who fill in the space around me. I fail to take life in and to really take the time to appreciate how beautiful it truly is. In these times, I must separate myself and retreat to the woods, where no one can find me.
I am a runner. I am a runner because running produces endorphins. I run because I have formed some of the deepest bonds to the people I run with every day. But, that being said, if I somehow managed to be the sole survivor of the apocalypse tomorrow, I would still run. I would do it because it helps me to connect with myself on a level that I could otherwise never attain. When I run alone, I am never lonely or bored. I have the one companion who has always been there for me and will follow me until the exact moment my heart stops beating. Therefore, I feel that I have a responsibility to nurture that relationship. It would not only be negligent, but treason against myself if I did not.
I believe that solitude gives the tools necessary in order to maintain a certain unity between mind, body, and spirit, as well as the outside world. I think it is important that a person develops the ability sometime in her lifetime to be comfortable being completely alone with herself. Finding the peace in solitude gives me the power to be myself unreservedly. The world cannot tell me to be ashamed. No one can tell me how I should be different. It is a cease-fire in the war that the world wages on my soul.
When I feel utterly isolated and cannot fathom the world or remember who I am, this knowledge carries me through; that, if just for a moment, I need only to take the time to let my mind wander into its own wilderness. In that instant, I am able to see myself clearly once more and am restored with a peace that no one else is capable of helping me discover.