“Solitude is the soil in which genius is planted, creativity grows, and legends bloom; faith in oneself is the rain that cultivates a hero to endure the storm, and bare the genesis of a new world, a new forest.”
Mike Norton
Solitude is a simple place where we can connect more deeply to self and to the world around us. It is in this sole space we sit with our state of mind, sort through our sizeable stack of emotions, stand up against our suspicions and skepticism, and settle into the sentient wisdom of our being. Solitary time with nature cultivates our connection to the very source of life, opens us to our creative forces, and places us firmly on the path to healing. We find our place and power. Without this purposeful, intentional, soul connection with what shapes and sustains us, we truly feel alone.
In October 2018, I left my community where I had lived, worked, and raised my family for 27 years. Feeling stuck in my comfort zone and in my life, I found myself down in the tall weeds and unable to see a clear path to move myself forward. Living in Alaska had been a life-long dream, so I made the decision to uproot myself and move to Wainwright, Alaska, a small, Inuit village wedged between the Chukchi Sea and Arctic Ocean. In a month’s time, I purposefully shifted my life from comfortable to chaotic. Alone and thousands of miles from my home, I was resolved to step fully into my life and the unique landscape that laid bare around me – to the cold, the isolation, the stillness, the culture, the darkness, the solitude, and the silence.
Solitude, even in its discomfort, is necessary for all of us sometimes. It is an opportunity to check in and be fully aware and present in ourselves, to peer into our heart to see if we are still manifesting the life that honors our vision, to explore our reactions and emotions and let go of what no longer serves us, and to sit in the quiet and hear our own voice. In solitude, we retreat to our center, recognize, and resurrect our authentic self, and raise our resilience. Through meaningful connections with nature, mindfulness practice, and meditation, we can discover and discern our own divine voice that proclaims our unconditional self-love and worth, our own wisdom, belonging, and purpose.