Community & Solitude

I often write about living a created live versus a default life.

Something I have been observing lately is how a default life often results in shallow or non-existent community, but also neglects restorative solitude.

You need both.

When you’re on default, you let life overtake you.

You tend to the immediacy of things that need to get done, and end up neglecting tending to the deeper things that sustain and nourish you.

One of these sustaining and nourishing things is comunity.

And the other is solitude.

Community

Humans are built for connection.

And being part of a community not only give you regular connection, it connects you with the other members through shared purpose and common values.

Being part of community gives you a chance to be truly seen and known by others.

And that is nourishing to the human psyche.

Restorative Solitude

Since the pandemic, Americans spend more time alone than they did before.

But restorative solitude is different than being alone.

Restorative solitude is time where you intentionally disconnect from the things that typically keep you distracted.

Restorative solitude allows you space to integrate and process.

It is also often the time where you have an insight or a creative thought.

Blaise Pascal said, “all of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels

To live a created life, tend to the deeper things that sustain and nourish you.

What will you do this week to cultivate community and restorative solitude in your life?

Love,

Audrey