Solitude: Quiet Reflection and Finding the Shoreline

My early morning begins with at least two of my four boys arguing about something. It is impossible to get through any morning with out it. Waves splashing, the salt burning my skin. It ends with my arrival at work, walking into my dark, quiet classroom. 20 minutes of isolation allowing me to focus on the day at hand. These minutes are about reflection and meditation. The calm, ripples of the water, a clear sight of the shore.

At home my solitude begins only with headphones and music for it is never quiet in my house unless all my children are asleep, which is rare. I used to seek a dark, corner where no one can find me. In the bath, warm water surrounding me. But now my solitude can be sitting on my bed typing up my blog post for the day listening to my favorite songs: usually alternative rock or classic rock. My favorite song currently is the theme from "Bloodline" the song is The Water Lets You In by Book of Fears. A fantastic T.V. show on Netflix by the way. The song is not a cheerful song but it is poignant. Water like life is often unforgiving. As humans we get lost, lose sight of the shoreline, but keep swimming, keep paddling and you will reach the coast.

I have found solitude is not always found in quiet. For me it is found in opening my mind to reflection and making sense of the world around me. The din of laughter, anger, regret can be the loudest sounds of the day. But it is what we hear inside that drowns out everything else. The darkness and echo of what lies above, as you float under water. As the amazing Peter Gabriel says in his Song San Jacinto "I hold the line, the line of strength that pulls me through the fear." The life preserver, the life boat that we all have. The friends and family that steer the ship in the right direction.

Reflection is a form of solitude. Isolating the thoughts of the day into a singularity much like the North Star or Polaris guiding us to our destination of self-discovery. We may encounter waves, whirlpools and storms taking us of course. But with proper navigation tools we can get back on course. The shoreline is always visible, reflection and meditation are the binoculars one can use to find it. The current gets rough as we near the shore the riptide tugging at our feet, But, when we step into the soft sand and turn to see the vast ocean we have traversed we know we have found our way home.