I am a man of solitude, enjoying and relishing in silence away from the crowds. Yet, I believe the journey through life is not to be traveled alone that people are vital. I’ve discovered there are times in life we will need to walk alone while at other times we will travel with others. Some of those travellers will be family, friends and some will be strangers. Some will share similar visions and dreams. Some will support us in times of need while at other times we will support them. My hope is we do not see one another as other than and erect walls. I also believe when we’re free from the shackles of our fear of others we will we never get the sense any mountain is too high to scale, or any horizon is too far to conquer. When free from the shackles of fear the storm clouds on the horizon will not deter us from continuing on. May we believe that as we create relationships with all of creation we are also in the act of creating our world.
3 Comments
Tom Dills
For the last several days I’ve been pondering this post and trying to decide whether to comment, and decide if I had anything useful to say. So here goes. I absolutely agree with the idea of solitude. Strange as it may seem, Kathy & I cherish the peace and quiet that comes from not being surrounded by people. Yet we love to travel on cruise ships, sometimes with many thousands of our “closest friends.” But we seek out and often find those places where we can be alone in the crowd, and sometimes the noise level is such that it drowns out the distractions. That’s not nearly as good as true quiet, but it does provide a sort of separation from the masses.
It’s hard to separate our fears and motivations from our perception of the expectations of others, even if we don’t do it consciously. I tell myself that I want to lose weight because I will look better and feel better, but is that my own expectation or is there a societal influence? I like to think it is all me, but is it really? That is one of the greatest things about our photography – no one has to care but us. If others do, that’s great. But we’ll still make the same pictures whether someone else looks at them or not. The idea of not having to compete is freeing.
I love the idea of “the act of creating our world.” We don’t ultimately have a lot of influence over our world, but exerting it where we can and where it matters is key. We do need a circle of friends as a support group, no matter how small. Some people – not us! – need larger circles than others. Some – like us! – can get by with a tighter circle. And relationships with “all of creation” does not mean only humans, does it? Interesting to think about. I’m still thinking about it – thanks for the inspiration!
Monte Stevens
First of all thank you for pondering and then expressing your deep and thoughtful comments. This past Saturday I had a family graduation and party to attend and deal with all the dynamics of that. I love my family but there is a limit to the time I want to spend with some of them. I can usually interact with people but I find the need for solitude later to recharge and come back to some state of serenity. I have some family and friends who that is not the case and can spend a lot of time with them. None of this is really due to them but me and my attitude or mental/spiritual health.
I am seeing how interconnected we are to each other and all of creation and thus the view of being a part of creating and also destroying. At the present time the circle of family/friends surrounding me is feeding me what I need. Even, as I say that I still need those moments out east on some dirt county road and away from mans incessant noise machines. Glad this post aroused inspiration. Have a great week!
Mark
Thought provoking post Monte. I am pretty much an introvert in every sense of the way. I enjoy *meaningful* interactions with others, but dread idle “chitchat” – probably because I suck at it. I guess I, in a sense, erect some walls – scalable to those that chose to do so, but enough to keep some of the riff-raff out. 🙂