'I have never found a companion as companionable as solitude' Henry D Thoreau

It has been a while since my last blogpost- I'm sure everyone like me has been too busy to function with the birth of our saviour 'n' all. Since my last blogpost, my boyfriend Gaz who I use a lot as examples has asked me to marry him which is very happy news indeed!! However, with that in mind, my next choice of topic seems like an unusual one, especially after engagements and the festive season. This is the idea of: solitude.

Solitude is often, like most topics I cover, a very negatively loaded word. In the great academic source that is Wikipedia it says:

'Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, loss of loved ones, deliberate choice, infectious disease.'

I just love that in this definition, 'deliberate choice' is mixed up with infectious disease or bad relationships- like if you want to be alone for a while their is evidently something wrong with you! However, solitude has not always been seen as a negative entity, indeed psychologists are discovering it's necessity in today's busy world more than ever before. When the term 'alone' was coined in medieval times, it was directly correlated with inner fulfillment, with adolescents who craved being around people all the time actually taken to Doctors to be healed!

Solitude was seen as a need for any element of creativity and from a spiritual perspective, solitude was one of the only ways you could actively grow closer to God, with the heavy investment of both wealth and bodies into convents and monasteries across the country. But 'solitude' or 'aloneness' has unhelpfully instead been paired off with 'loneliness' and has since been seen in general, as something best avoided. 

For me solitude is something I struggle with. Yes, I enjoy my own company and am perfectly happy to sit in my room with a Terry's Chocolate Orange and a Studio Ghibli Animated film on by myself, but that's not really solitude. How often am I by myself with no computer switched on and no phone switched on, just spending time wholly focused on my time with God? The answer is hardly ever. A year ago Gaz went on a silent retreat in some wasteland in Wales with no talking, computers or phones allowed and I remember thinking, much the same as I think today, that sounds like my idea of hell, but Gaz got an awful lot out of it. Thankfully for me, we are not all called to go on silent retreats (though some of us are!) But we are all called to solitude once in a while. 

So why should we invest in solitude?

There are a few reasons why solitude is an important element to make as part of your routine.

Firstly, it is a direct link to God. I know that in the past I have used elements such as church worship or Soul Survivor as a go between linking me and God in a roundabout way. However, investing in solitude, spending time away from business just you and God makes sure you cut these elements out. In Matthew 6:6 it says: ‘When you pray go into your own room and pray to your father in secret.’

Secondly, Jesus often spent mornings or even days at a time in solitude with God, away from the questions and hustle bustle of living amongst his disciples. In Luke 6:12 it says ‘In these days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray and all night he continued in prayer to God.’ If Jesus had a need to go and be apart from the world and pray to his Father, I’m thinking we probably need this also.

Lastly, in the bible it speaks about the importance of meditation. In Joshua 1:8 it says: ’This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written.’ Meditation is the filling of yourself with both word and the holy spirit and allows for processing, reflecting and connecting.

One technique I recently learnt on how to meditate is known as the ‘Lexo Cavina’ (sounds posh I know but stick with it!) It breaks down meditation into 5 simple steps which I have kindly worked out as the five Bs!

Bitesize- pick a bitesized chunk on manageable scripture which you can think and prayer over

Break it down- break it down section by section and look into each part for more information

Bask- appreciate it, ask God to reveal more

Brood over it- internalise, think how this can be real in your current situation etc

Bless- thank God for this passage and what you have discovered through it.

The Lexo Cavina is a way you can begin to meditate in a practical and easy way, but solitude is necessary.

Lastly, it is important to note that though solitude is important for re-connection with God, it is not something we are all called to do. Even Jesus had to come down from the mountain after praying to continue his work and continue being with people. If you are like me, I love being around people, but hopefully this blogpost can give you ideas on how to make alone time count for your walk with God in a real and practical way, but the role of solitude is often to equip us and enable us to continue to be Jesus to everyone we meet.

Peace out <3