The other day I read this quote by Rainer Maria Rilke who was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist who often explored themes surrounding disbelief, anxiety and solitude. However, in his book entitled 'Letters to a Young Poet', Rilke delved into how a "poet should feel, love, and seek truth in trying to understand the world around him and engage the world of art." When reading his words regarding solitude I sat to myself and wondered, how many of us believe that this is even possible to attain and do we even know how to obtain this?
In a world of constant connectivity, we have no choice but to be social even in moments when our inner beings scream for quiet time and momentary pieces of mind. I wondered when was the last time I had truly walked inside of myself and simply sat. Sat and listened to my innermost thoughts and bounced ideas off of myself. Listened to my heart beat and the pace of my own breath. How cognizant am I of the thoughts that I drift off to every single night and the anxiety that I awaken to each morning? Can I describe it? Am I in tune to myself? I read this quote and found myself questioning myself- yet I had no answers. I realized that constant connectivity has been drowning out my own inner voice and the more I listen to others the less I began to listen to myself. Thus solitude was and is needed. If only but for a few hours each day, I will sit to and with myself. Monitor the rhythm of my breathing, write down the words that so effortlessly flow through my mind, stretch, read something really beautiful, and "feel, love, and seek truth in trying to understand the world around (me) and engage the world of art."