Chapter 5. Solitude vs.
Loneliness: Two Very Different Reactions to Being Alone
Let’s move on now to solitude
and how it differs from loneliness. Both are the result of being
alone, or rather, both are a reaction to the state of being alone. It
has been said that language has created the word loneliness to express
the pain of being alone, and the word solitude to express the glory of
being alone. However, solitude is a welcome choice, a chance to rest
and nourish the soul whereas loneliness carries so many destructive
emotions that we want to escape it. Vincent Van Gogh painted a
touching picture of being alone; “One may have a blazing hearth in
one’s soul, yet no one ever comes to sit by it”
On the other hand, solitude has
it’s benefits. Aloneness forces you to evaluate your life, your
aspirations, beliefs, and attitudes. You’ve heard the saying, it’s
good to lay fallow for awhile. That which does not kill me,
strengthens me.” The following poem, author unknown, is reminiscent
of Biblical wisdom gained and born out of suffering:
I walked a mile with Pleasure
She chattered all the way
And left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne’re a word said she
But, oh, the things I learned
from her
When Sorrow walked with me.
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