I’ve been trying to get a better understanding of solitude and what it means to me. My grandfather seems to have an explanation that I buy into:
Solitude: for some this is a comfort zone. for others it is a nightmare, a state which one will try to run away from. if one (with sanity) enjoys solitude it is a God given gift. Discoveries and revelations of truth have occurred to explorers and seers mostly in solitude.Multitude – if it is the correct antonym – in contrast gives knocks making the person to act and react. Multitude creates puzzles and questions while solitude gives solutions and answers.To my mind, one has to enjoy both states. In multitude one is the Victim / Hero of contemporary circumstances. In solitude one is the master of himself. The self within the self is activated.
His explanation hit home. I’ve been confused for long with the concept of energy and how one gets recharged – belief is that introverts recharge in solitude and extroverts recharge in company. But I seem to gain energy in both scenarios and this always confused me – am I an introvert or extrovert?
But grandpa’s explanation seems to make more sense,whether I gain energy from solitude depends on my state of mind and phase of life I am in. If Life has plateaued a bit, then I am probably looking for more ideas (and perhaps more problems). In such scenarios I might get energy from multitude or from being around more people. On the contrary, if I am facing loads of problems all day then I look for answers in solitude.
I guess it really is about the balance…
Learning Antenna 