“True silence is to the spirit what sleep is to the body ……nourishment and refreshment.”
One thing I have missed during the past year is SOLITUDE. What? There is a fundamental difference between Isolation, which is what we have been forced to endure since March of 2020, and solitude. Isolation is a forced, unnatural, situation where we can not do, go to, be with or hug. We are not meant to be alone. Isolation is for an extended period and results in loneliness and depression. During isolation you have no hope and your brain starts to catastrophize even the small things like, will I run out of toilet paper?
Solitude, however,is introspective and is planned and short term. It is a scheduled break to breathe, slow down and come into balance with our goals, dreams, and values. 
My world was turned upside down with the pandemic. I had not expected real estate sales to go through the roof and to work 14 hours a day for weeks at a time. The lack of solitude leads me to mood swings, my energy level dropped, and I did not think as clearly. My ability to make decisions with conviction weakened to the point that during one incredible stretch of work and no sleep I found myself at the deli counter at 9:00PM needing a pound of sliced turke,y as there was no food in the house. The nice deli clerk asked what kind of sliced turkey I wanted. What? “ Yes,” he said, “Do you want smoked, sugar cured, barbequed, honey glazed, store brand, boars head, sliced thin or thick?”….at which point I totally broke down in tears!!! Yes, I did, for real. At which point he just said, “Shall I just choose.?”
I had not done my daily meditation, weekly hours of power (planning and goal setting), reading, walking, OR digging in the dirt in my garden for weeks. Solitude is not family time or watching TV. It is time when your brain goes to another place and you get creative. You know when you get your best ideas in the shower, listening to music, or when driving? That is solitude. The little voices stop repeating your to do list, or you should do list, or what others’ expectations of you are, and you take charge of that inner voice and let it play with possibilities instead of responsibilities.
Not really knowing at the time I was missing solitude, I turned off my phone and worked in my garden for 6 hours. My mind relaxed, my mood improved, and I felt more like myself. I was facing a KILLER week ahead and then the unexpected hit. A member of my family needed me away for 2 full days..happy reasons. This is when I realized the critical importance of solitude. I recognized that these 2 days away was the most important thing I needed to do. Because I felt energized, I was able to think clearly and wrote a list of 16, time consuming, tasks that I would have to get done before I left. The next day I got all 16 done in 10 hours. Truly, it was a full week’s worth of work, but I was energized having reconnected with my priorities. The focused intensity with which I worked was awesome. I was in “THE ZONE” or “IN FLOW” which is the new term.
Solitude doesn’t happen on its own. It must be planned. I am back to my 15 minutes each morning of mediation and 2 scheduled hours of “thinking time” per week…and of course 4 hours per week of garden time. They are the rocks in my calendar. They can be moved BUT NOT IGNORED.
“True solitude is to the spirit what sleep is to the body ……nourishment and refreshment.”