A new kind of art

I will begin this post by copying a quote that I noted yesterday on Facebook:

"Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than the absence of others, because solitude is an achievement." -- Alice Koller

I do this for three reasons. One, because I know there are friends reading this blog who have moved on from Facebook, two, because I love the quote so much and three, because I think the quote is so rich it deserves a blogpost all to its own!

I have read it at least a dozen times.  For me, the quote is almost perfect.  The only way I might change it is at the end, 'solitude can be a discipline, an achievement and an art.'  

I don't think solitude is always an achievement because for some, solitude without discipline could lead to destructive behavior.   I add the word art because I now know it is possible to be passionate about solitude and to me, art has always equalled passion and thus, has always been important to my definition of life. 

Since coming to the Philippines I have lost connection with a lot of the things I used to consider exercises in art... updating, managing and listening to my music collection (most of it destroyed due to a hard drive issue, but hopefully I have it backed up on a drive in Phx), the time I spend at the torch melting glass, cooking, and other things.  These activities have mainly been replaced by Living in Solitude.  Of course, living in solitude is much more than one activity but what I notice is that I grow more and more at peace with what is required to successfully live this way.  

A few ways I could describe the art I created before:  Chaotic, undisciplined, unmeasured, wild, defying categorization.  

To me, the art of solitude requires a different set of characteristics and they are interestingly (at least to me) the opposite:  Controlled, disciplined, measured, peaceful, organized. 

Hopefully, when I return to the US, I can bring these new art skills to bear in my life and hopefully, I will be the better for it.  In any case, this experience is unfolding riches to me, the likes of which I hadn't considered when I began this journey.