ALSO is so, so good. Congrats on making a masterpiece!
Yeah, there is a real pull I feel to not being a religious nun but to wearing a voluminous black garment and thinking by myself. Though truthfully I'm not much for minimalism and simplicity. I'd want to be a nun surrounded by colorful objects (wait, maybe they are? maybe it's not all cold grey spaces like in the movies). But the promise of real solitude seems like a fantasy almost.
I dream of having enough solitude to study the books that are piling up (classics, philosophy, socialism, etc), and then even more solitude to write the series of books I have dancing around in my own head. I used to have enough solitude to go on walks to the river, conversing with my characters as we sat watching the water slip past. Daily responsibility and increasing elder care has gradually tricked me into allowing that solitude to slip away like the water did.
I need to take back my ME moments.
Thank you for reminding me of the joy and creativity in solitude.
(Now that I think about it, solitude is a great name for a town...)
Julie! Thank you for reading ALSO! I’m so glad you enjoyed it enough to recommend. As you can guess, it was a book that came out of the very center of me, so it always means so much when another human connects with it. I’m really interested to seek out Nellie Wong. I actually thought I wanted to be a nun when I was a kid, which is hilarious because I was raised in a completely non (almost anti) religious family. But I see now that I was drawn to the solitude. I also secretly dream of being a mail carrier, maybe for the same reasons- walking and being alone. I can never get enough solitude, especially these days!
So well written, Julie. Love this post so much. I think I'll go build a blanket tent in my living room, sneak in a headlamp, and some not-too-crunchy snacks, and write stuff.
Love this post! I’ve found that conscious “activity” helps me make space for solitude and that paddleboarding is one of my instant relaxation/solitude inviters. I need to find a winter equivalent but I definitely plan on more paddleboarding this summer.
Thanks for these thoughts on solitude. It's crucial to me. And I'm taking back lots of it as I leave my school job. I have a retreat coming up at Highlights in June, and that will be a wonderful mix of solitude and connection, but the one I'm looking forward to most is scheduled for August when normally I would be coming back to school to get things ready for the new year. Instead, I'll be in Kentucky at Cedars of Peace in a cabin on a road marked with a sign requesting no talking beyond this point. Further down this path is a meditation cabin and a labyrinth, and farm trails and wooded trails to hike, and nearby on the property, the sisters of Loretto, feisty and forward-thinking, and great examples of women living in solitude still changing the world.
ALSO is so, so good. Congrats on making a masterpiece!
Yeah, there is a real pull I feel to not being a religious nun but to wearing a voluminous black garment and thinking by myself. Though truthfully I'm not much for minimalism and simplicity. I'd want to be a nun surrounded by colorful objects (wait, maybe they are? maybe it's not all cold grey spaces like in the movies). But the promise of real solitude seems like a fantasy almost.
I dream of having enough solitude to study the books that are piling up (classics, philosophy, socialism, etc), and then even more solitude to write the series of books I have dancing around in my own head. I used to have enough solitude to go on walks to the river, conversing with my characters as we sat watching the water slip past. Daily responsibility and increasing elder care has gradually tricked me into allowing that solitude to slip away like the water did.
I need to take back my ME moments.
Thank you for reminding me of the joy and creativity in solitude.
(Now that I think about it, solitude is a great name for a town...)
Julie! Thank you for reading ALSO! I’m so glad you enjoyed it enough to recommend. As you can guess, it was a book that came out of the very center of me, so it always means so much when another human connects with it. I’m really interested to seek out Nellie Wong. I actually thought I wanted to be a nun when I was a kid, which is hilarious because I was raised in a completely non (almost anti) religious family. But I see now that I was drawn to the solitude. I also secretly dream of being a mail carrier, maybe for the same reasons- walking and being alone. I can never get enough solitude, especially these days!
So well written, Julie. Love this post so much. I think I'll go build a blanket tent in my living room, sneak in a headlamp, and some not-too-crunchy snacks, and write stuff.
Love this post! I’ve found that conscious “activity” helps me make space for solitude and that paddleboarding is one of my instant relaxation/solitude inviters. I need to find a winter equivalent but I definitely plan on more paddleboarding this summer.
Thanks for these thoughts on solitude. It's crucial to me. And I'm taking back lots of it as I leave my school job. I have a retreat coming up at Highlights in June, and that will be a wonderful mix of solitude and connection, but the one I'm looking forward to most is scheduled for August when normally I would be coming back to school to get things ready for the new year. Instead, I'll be in Kentucky at Cedars of Peace in a cabin on a road marked with a sign requesting no talking beyond this point. Further down this path is a meditation cabin and a labyrinth, and farm trails and wooded trails to hike, and nearby on the property, the sisters of Loretto, feisty and forward-thinking, and great examples of women living in solitude still changing the world.
Hey Julie, we wrote about the same topic today!!! LOL. Thanks for all the great insights in this post. :)