Do you crave some time alone in this crowded world? Today, we are connected 24/7 via social media, email, text and more, so we must create sacred space intentionally.
Seeking solitude can be a healthy practice. For some people, choosing to be alone for a short or long period of time can be intimidating or taxing, but it is rewarding. Solitude has been proven to be beneficial for our sanity, spirituality, health and productivity.
Author and psychologist, Dr. Sherrie Bourg Carter in her Psychology Today article, “6 Reasons You Should Spend More Time Alone,” makes note of the benefits of solitude:
1) Solitude allows you to reboot your brain and unwind.
2) Solitude helps to improve concentration and increase productivity.
3) Solitude gives you an opportunity to discover yourself and find your own voice.
4) Solitude provides time for you to think deeply.
5) Solitude helps you work through problems more effectively.
6) Solitude can enhance the quality of your relationships with others.
I would add one more; solitude allows you to be alone with God because there are many distractions that pull us away from our daily conversations and connection with our Lord.
Solitude doesn’t have to be for a long time or far away to be enriching. Rising early in the morning before everyone is up offers a time to be alone with yourself and God.
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Taking a walk while you are on your lunch break gives you a chance to think and/or pray.
Disconnecting from your smart phone and social media for a day will help to hear your own voice.
And if time and money permits, one can get away for a personal retreat. What other ways can we experience positive solitude? Please share with us.
Lord, let us not resist the gift and blessings of solitude; teach us to schedule time for it in our lives.
