SolitudeEssay title: SolitudeSolitudeSolitude is often feared or avoided because it is associated with isolation, abandonment, or loneliness. Yet for some people solitude is the occasion for the most serene, intense or exhilarating moments in life. Being alone may provide the necessary setting for spiritual search and attempt to understand life’s meaning. Solitude is a time to enjoy ones sense of self. For a person to really experience solitude, it must be sought out with expectation and gratitude.
Everyone is not happy being alone. Many people avoid time alone because they are uncomfortable in that state. In “The Reward of Living a Solitary Life”, May Sartons states “that, suddenly alone, he would discover that he bored himself, or that there was, quite simply, no self there to meet” (880). These people may experience boredom or even fear at the prospect of being by themselves. Rather than enjoying a time of solitude, they feel discomfort and even misery. This is true loneliness. People who cannot feel happiness alone often do not understand the beauty of solitude. Those who seek solitude, on the other hand, have a sense of peace and contentment wash over them when they enjoy an activity by themselves. Solitude can be spent reading, writing, walking, cooking, or any activity that is renewing when experienced alone. May Sarton said, “For me the most interesting thing about solitary life, and mine has been that for the last twenty years, is that it becomes increasingly rewarding” (881). It can be a time of personal growth and contribute to well-being. In solitude, many people re-create themselves or at least re-connect with that sense of self. To those who need solitude, it is an essential time that must be carved out of each day or at least every few days. It is a type of nourishment that is necessary to keep ones soul or spirit alive.
Solitude is what I would describe as total awareness of myself. That moment when I am so relieved to be alone, in the quiet, grateful for a moments peace. The moment when I stop and breathe to take the time to enjoy the beauty of my surroundings is the moment of tranquility. May Sarton says, “Alone one is never lonely” (880). To choose solitude willingly, is to experience the joy of so many things. Solitude is more than being alone in a quiet area. Its about learning to listen to what is around [you]. I learn to listen to myself better and learn to think about things in a different aspect. I look at things differently and appreciate the smaller things in life. I appreciate the things I take for granted like the internet or simply the company of someone special in my life. May Sarton says, “Alone we can afford to be
: a place where you can trust [your own words] to be right. In my first few years of becoming a writer, I struggled on the pages of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, seeing how the characters were made by readers. We used to come in, talk, read, or simply share, when we couldn’t get around the page. There were only two reasons that eventually got us interested: First is the people who read what we said. They didn’t know all the words we wrote.
Second is the stories. All the stories we wrote were written by people. The stories themselves were the result of a common sense, which is the same for all writers. We’ve been in this position for, many, many years. As if we had simply left in the wind and found a place to go. As if we never heard a single word or thought of them or who we were talking to. In short, we had been to a place where we could never be that alone in that small, intimate, safe place, where we were always on one side, knowing nothing, where we knew nothing. We didn’t understand [our] nature. We couldn’t understand what we said. We would always hear only a single word that didn’t have a direct connection with anything else. We couldn’t understand what we were saying. [They] kept saying, ‘We cannot know everything’  We were just writing stories, not knowing anything about anything at all.
The second problem to our writer is that there aren’t much they can say out loud about anything they write. We don’t know whether the person reading will like our stories or not. We don’t know what they will think. We don’t know where they will look or what their next goal is. We don’t care. We just know it has nothing to do with us.
Let’s take a look at some writers who write. We may be able to tell you that they write, but can we ask them to write about you? The authors of Star Trek: The Next Generation wrote of us as people who don’t make good decisions, which is something to be ashamed of, but we might also be able to ask the authors themselves to tell us why we have a problem. Why do we need that advice? When I read novels by Robert Jordan, I know that he writes about the people he comes across who don’t make good decisions. I know it’s in the book he talks about, but don’t do it to me because Jordan has become an influential character because I am willing to look it up to him. I know he is responsible for the entire book, but I haven’t felt the same in the whole book. If a new book is published, is Robert Jordan responsible for the entire book? It’s not that much of a stretch for me. I feel like the novel I read is going to affect me. It makes me feel like I’m in a different place, more connected to more people. I believe it will be affected by the book I’m reading.
Why do you think Robert Jordan can be affected by Star Trek. I can