Sitting quietly in a room alone.

I came across this quote when reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1956 by C.S. Lewis: “…Lucy felt running through her that deep shiver of gladness which you only get if you are being solemn and still’. I thought that it was an interesting, as I do enjoy meditating (on the rare occasion I take the time to benefit from it)

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone” (“Tout le malheur des hommes vient d’une seule chose, qui est de ne pas savoir demeurer au repos dans une chambre”.)- this quote comes from Blaise Pascal who was a French mathematicien and philosopher from the 1600’s.

I was surprised to find that spending time alone was identified as being a challenge centuries ago. I thought that it was a modern behaviour, especially due to excessive screen-time. So I interpret this as a need for humans to learn to be alone. If we don’t manage to spend time alone, we will only know how to be lonely…or bored.

Also, according to Pablo Picasso, solitude is necessary for creativity: ‘Without great solitude, no serious work is possible’.

Interestingly, the French language doesn’t appear to make the difference between * ‘solitude’ (a positive experience) and ‘loneliness’ (a negative emotion) and it uses the word ‘solitude’ to describe both situations.

Stephen Batchelor appears to be an expert on the subject and is the author of a book called The Art of Solitude and he writes: “By withdrawing from the world into solitude, you separate yourself from others. By isolating yourself, you can see more clearly what distinguishes you from other people. Standing out in this way serves to affirm your existence (ex-[out] + sistere [stand]). Liberated from social pressures and constraints, solitude can help you understand better what kind of person you are and what your life is for. In this way you become independent of others. You find your own path, your own voice.”

I think that solitude could be a good resolution for 2024!

Happy New Year everyone.

_{*Solitude is defined in the Cambridge dictionnary as ‘the situation of being alone, often by choice’.}