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Solitude
Alone But Not Lonely
Solitude is a word that is rich in meaning, is empathetic and rolls off the tongue, almost melodious and mellifluous in sound bytes. However for a such beautiful sounding word the meaning can be quite harsh.
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Solitude bears the scars of the hermit, the anti-social, the remote individual residing amidst a busy group of people.
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Alone but not necessarily lonely, the solitary stand apart from society. The solitary favours no one with their company.
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From the monk enjoying cloistered living to those residing in aged care or indeed those enduring an existence overshadowed by for example schizophrenia ; living the life of the solitary can take on very different aspects.
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From a purely romantic point of view the monk or the recluse plunges fully into the cerebral life of the historian; the pray-er; the musician; the winemaker; exploring and enjoying the benefits to the fullest. No wife,no children, no noise; no repairs and maintenance, no having to earn money to pay feudal taxes, so basically other than a bit of self-flagellation — a life lived fully in self-realisation. This could conceivably be considered a life of solitude; lived fully and richly.
