Solitude… is what sustains me and protects me from my mind. It renders me fully present. I am desert. I am mountains. I am Great Salt Lake. There are other languages being spoken by wind, water, and wings. There are other lives to consider: avocets, stilts, and stones. Peace is the perspective found in patterns. When I see ring-billed gulls picking on the flesh of decaying carp, I am less afraid of death. We are no more and no less than the life that surrounds us. My fears surface in my isolation. My serenity surfaces in my solitude.

Terry Tempest Williams

The Oxford Dictionary defines solitude as: the state or situation of being alone. I relate to her quote because there are times when enjoying my coffee life, surrounded by people in conversations, baristas foaming milk, and piped music, I can feel isolated. A major contrast to the city’s natural areas which provides a place for me to be in solitude. Yet, I am never really alone as I am surrounded by plants, birds, animals, clouds, and people, who add their presence and sounds to my solitude. So, while I’m in solitude with nature, I too find serenity. Happy Friday!