Solitude, good for us at times

Here in southern California, it seems (at times) that we are racked and stacked, with people perpetually on top of one another.  Choosing to go to the beach on a sunny weekend means enjoying the sand and surf with thousands of your newest, closest friends.  Similar scenes and experiences await the movie-goer, fan at football and baseball games, shoppers at the countless malls, visitors to the zoos, gamblers at the numerous casinos, and (most definitely) drivers on the freeways.  People surround people.  So a little solitude is good at times.

I refer not to the solitude that can be had by never leaving ones home.  The couch potato, vegetative television viewer, solo (and mindless) computer gamer, Internet surfer, and the like are not benefiting from the form of solitude to which I refer.

The form of solitude to which I refer involves deliberate activity benefiting the person physically, intellectually, and/or emotionally.  For one, I enjoy the solitude of the individual morning run or bicycle ride.  Absent the interaction, planned or otherwise, of my fellow citizen(s), this time alone with my thoughts is shared with healthy exercise that improves the body.  (As I age, vigorous exercise increases in importance.)  The normal surrounding chatter - often banal, distracting, and meaningless - doesn't intrude into my thoughts.  During these solitary times, analysis is sharper; recognition and acceptance of ones foibles and faults becomes easier; internal and external pressures are reduced; and planning more accurate.

At the conclusion of these periods of solitude, be it a run or ride, the future of the day is brighter, the love for my wife stronger, the general outlook on life healthier, and the realization of how blessed our lives are sharper.

A enjoyable, productive period of solitude is healthy and good for us.  I advocate not for seclusion, but for introspection.  In doing so, it's recommended each of us finds that activity, which can be accomplished in solitude, and provides physical, intellectual, and/or emotional benefit.