Whenever I think about solitude as a spiritual discipline, I run from it. It is something that scares me. I'm a relational person... Why would I want to isolate myself from other people? By letting busyness, background noise and other distractions run my life I isolate myself from God. However, I also know that God is relational. He wouldn't have created us and sent Christ to die on the cross for us if He didn't desire a relationship with us. Taking this new perspective and other ideas from Nouwen's devotion titled, Bringing Solitude into Our Lives, I now see that solitude isn't as lonely as it first may seem!
Nouwen brings up the fact that we have so much inner chaos within us! Even in a silent room, our thoughts do not stop. Our worries, anxieties, feelings and desires are all still there. It often causes us to fill our lives with so much busyness because we do not want to let ourselves hear our own thoughts. The outer distractions keep us from hearing what we ourselves are saying. It might be difficult to face some of the fears, anxieties and feelings that we have, but that does not mean that they can be ignored. Solitude may be overwhelming at first. But after time, we will learn to hear God over our own thoughts. As we begin to cherish alone time with God more, solitude will become more of a gift to us instead of a discipline.
Nouwen says, "The discipline of solitude, as I have described it here, is one of the most powerful disciplines in developing a prayerful life." Practicing solitude can create in us a desire for more alone time with God. One way to do this is through prayer. Even when we aren't alone, we can still pray. I can see that the practice of solitude has effects on our lives outside of alone time. And that to me is phenomenal. Spiritual disciplines build on each other. The connectedness of solitude and prayer is only one example.
So when you enter into a busy day, don't forget to pause. Take a breather with God. He's always available for some one on one time!
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