Solitude is the garden for our hearts, which yearn for love. It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says, "Do not be afraid. I am with you, and I will guide you through the valley of darkness."
Let's keep returning to our solitude.
(With thanks to the Henri Nouwen Society)
This follows on from what I wrote in the last post about the rigours of solitude. We desperately need solitude, even those of us who are not called, temporarily or permanently, to the solitary life. And yet, as Nouwen says - with masterly understatement - "It is not an easy place to be..."
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..." (Matthew 5.3) And what is solitude, except a way to make our poverty of spirit real to us, to remove the distractions of immediate satisfaction, the solace of company and smalltalk, the refuges which we have established during a lifetime? Even Jesus, close as he was to his Father, conscious as he was of the immense need of the people he walked among, frequently "withdrew... to a deserted place by himself... to pray." (Matthew 14.13,23)
God grant us holy cunning in searching out solitude, and an honest hunger for the desert places of God.
2 comments:
I know I said this just two days ago, Mike. But, again, thank you for posting some of the most beautiful things I read everyday. I am so glad I re-discovered you.
Thank you, Lindy... Don't feel I really deserve, but thanks!
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