Image source: Elizabeth C. Webb
Yesterday, NPR published an article by Linda Holmes titled, "The Luxury of Solitude." The article is more personal musings and introspective thoughts, than scientific findings touting the value of being alone, but that's what makes it so beautiful - beautiful in a way that scientific research rarely can be inside its peer-reviewed, careful packaging. Which, isn't to say that scientific publications are not profound or elegant, but there's something in the messy details of personal observation that can never be replicated within the confines of science.
Holmes states in the article, "We have a certain cultural mistrust of solitude, I think. It is for weirdos and lost souls, spinsters and misfits. But in truth, I can't tell you what a luxury I think it is to be entitled to it." And without pushing anyone to agree with her she makes a very simple point: not everyone can be alone, isolated from the stressors of everyday life, and we don't appreciate this small gift when it is available to us. "What would I do if I could do anything — in this micro-environment, in this moment, at the point of this particular pause, what is my wish?" How often do we think like that? Holmes' idea being that we cannot think like this without being completely alone, isolated and unburdened from our daily grind. And what did Holmes discover during her luxurious solitude: the freedom of self-determination and the whimsy of answering only to her own desires.
Holmes states in the article, "We have a certain cultural mistrust of solitude, I think. It is for weirdos and lost souls, spinsters and misfits. But in truth, I can't tell you what a luxury I think it is to be entitled to it." And without pushing anyone to agree with her she makes a very simple point: not everyone can be alone, isolated from the stressors of everyday life, and we don't appreciate this small gift when it is available to us. "What would I do if I could do anything — in this micro-environment, in this moment, at the point of this particular pause, what is my wish?" How often do we think like that? Holmes' idea being that we cannot think like this without being completely alone, isolated and unburdened from our daily grind. And what did Holmes discover during her luxurious solitude: the freedom of self-determination and the whimsy of answering only to her own desires.
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