Solitude is a condition of peace that stands in direct opposition to loneliness. Loneliness is like sitting in an empty room and being aware of the space around you. It is a condition of separateness. Solitude is becoming one with the space around you. It is a condition of union. loneliness is small, solitude is large. loneliness closes in around you; solitude expands toward the infinite. loneliness has its roots in words, in an internal conversation that nobody answers; solitude has it’s roots in the great silence of eternity.
Nerburn. K. ‘Simple Truths: Clear & Gentle Guidance on the Big Issues in Life’.
New World Library.2005. p55
Referring to ‘The Life of the Mind’, Arendt reflects upon loneliness as, that which;
…comes about when I am alone without being able to split up into the two-in-one, without being able to keep myself company…It is this duality of myself with myself that makes thinking a true activity, in which I am both the one who asks and who answers.
Here, Arendt reflects upon an inner ‘dialectical’ criticality, through which, in solitude, we must learn to turn to another part of the self.[1]
In regards the article ‘How to Be Alone: An Antidote to One of the Central Anxieties and Greatest Paradoxes of Our Time’, though Popova defines ‘voluntary aloneness’ as a ‘choice’, she refers to Maitland’s text ‘How to Be Alone’, to reflect upon feelings of self-doubt and its impact upon solitude. Here, Maitland warns the solitary volunteer to be mindful and self-aware while undertaking acts of solitude, contending ‘…the very nature of happiness, be something I think I feel but don’t really feel’, Popova refers to Maitland as having built a ‘toolkit’, through five points, which have been formed as a guide, so we can learn to think through feelings and ‘do’ solitude well’;
- A deeper consciousness of oneself
- A deeper attunement to nature
- A deeper relationship with the transcendent (the numinous, the devine, the spiritual)
- Increased creativity
- An increased sense of freedom
Regarding the ‘outward-looking’ nature of society as a symbol of ‘status’, ‘mastery and independence’ and ‘self-assertion’, Maitland expresses an imbalance in relation to solitude, which she describes as having been dealt ‘…a serious social and psychological problem’ and a ‘weak logic’, in which ‘…autonomy, personal freedom, fulfillment and human rights, and above all individualism’ expressed through solitude, is ‘treat with a dark suspicion’. Stressing the concern of solitude is attributed to the ‘eccentric’ nature of a solitary persons ‘well-being’, Maitland highlights, that ultimately, the fear of solitude, is ultimately driven, by being ’terrified of being alone’.
On reflection, throughout this article, Popova highlights that there is a ‘stigma’ attached to people who chose to ‘elect’ their own solitude, which she contends as having created a ‘very deep cultural confusion’. Referring to a letter written by the philosopher Nussbaum, as a ‘…case for the importance of cultivating a rich inner life’, Popova defines this letter as encouraging one to embrace ‘vulnerability’ and to ‘not fear feelings’, to consider ‘being intimate with our own inner life’ and explore the freedom of ’emotional excess as a generative force’, through which, we can ‘harness the empathic power of storytelling’ and enable one ‘to reach greater, more dimensional intimacy with others’. Defending solitude as being ‘absolutely essential for a full life’, she defines ‘active aloneness’ as the seeking of ‘our own fulfilment, to act on our feelings, to achieve authenticity and personal happiness’, which she states ‘doesn’t make us more antisocial but to the contrary, better able to connect’.[2]
[1] Hannah Arendt. ‘The Life of the Mind’. New York: Harcourt, 1978, p185
[2] Maria Popova. ‘How to Be Alone: An Antidote to One of the Central Anxieties and Greatest Paradoxes of Our Time’. Online Source: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/09/03/how-to-be-alone-school-of-life/. Sept 2014. Source cited: 10th Oct 2015.