KC24: The Value Of Silence & Solitude In Our Busy Modern World Episode
Is your soul feeling tired, exhausted, weary and worn out?
Are you longing to regain inner restfulness & strength?
Do you sometimes feel frustrated or confused about where you’re headed?
In this episode, we’ll discover the preciousness & value of silence & solitude and how we can recover our souls & lives.
What Is Solitude?
But first, let’s see how the dictionary defines solitude.
It states solitude as the state of BEING or living alone.
Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist & writer who lived between 1623 & 1662 once said…
“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”
Pablo Picasso, a Spanish painter, sculptor, poet & playwright who lived between 1881 & 1973 said…
“Without great solitude no serious work is possible”
And when we think about it, didn’t most of our greatest thinkers in history work in solitude?
I’ll be the first to admit that I need to value solitude even more.
In a world that increasingly values action, solitude is seldom spoken about.
While solitude is being alone, solitude is NOT loneliness.
While loneliness is inner emptiness, solitude is inner fulfilment!
By practicing silence & solitude, it will help us build inner depth. The more inner depth we have, the more we can & have to give in our active lives.
Solitude also helps us think through the deeper issues of our lives. It will free us from frantic activities.
Henry David Thoreau, an American essayist, philosopher & abolitionist who died in 1862 lived for more than 2 years in a cabin he built for himself.
He invested lots of time in solitude and with his writings has influenced & inspired legends like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. That’s what solitude can do for us!
The Real Problem
In this day & age, we’re constantly on the move with people to meet, places to visit, things to do, functions to attend, games to play & amuse ourselves with and the list goes on and on!
Now…
The real problem is NOT the lack of time but the lack of desire or even awareness. It’s not that we cannot have solitude but we will not because we don’t value it enough.
We’ve been caught by the spirit of this age. We have become increasingly foreign to the practice of solitude.
People are uncomfortable with silence and so we quickly turn on the TV or stuff our ears with earphones or look for someone to talk to.
I heard someone once say…
“Noise is existence while silence is being”
Here’s the thing…
Practising silence & solitude is particularly important if you lead an extremely busy life and especially if you’ve got children… like I do!
Am I making sense?
Are you beginning to have a greater desire for solitude? If so… great!
Practical Suggestions For You
Here are some practical suggestions…
Begin to cultivate a fixed routine and this means having a fixed place and time to help you practice silence & solitude.
I heard it said somewhere…
“Solitude is like the soul’s holiday”
So do carve out a regular time every week to have a date with yourself.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be long. It just needs to be consistent. This is also the reason why I encourage my wife to regularly have “me time”.
To take it a step further, whenever I get the chance to, I’ll have meals with myself. It’s wonderful & lovely!
In the process of practicing silence & solitude, instrumental or classical music can be really helpful.
One of my all-time favorite albums for this is called Forest Piano by Dan Gibson.
Go get it and thank me later!
Personally, I also love to take really long walks in the park or walk on the beach. One can sit, meditate and pray too!
This has been one of my favorite activities for a long time now. Being with nature can be one of the most therapeutic & recuperative things you can do for yourself!
As we wrap up this episode…
Take some time to ponder over what we’ve covered in the last few minutes.
I would encourage you to pencil in a time in the midst of your schedule over the next few days so you can practice silence & solitude and also reap the benefits of it in due course.
Thank you for listening and as always, I can be reached at KelvinChan.org 🙂
