In seeking solitude we undertake to follow a conscious or unconscious desire to relate more directly to Nature itself, or the Universal life beyond our own human nature and personality that we know so well.
We also seek relief from the complexities of our relationship with others.
Sometimes to be alone is needed for a time when we get tired of that same old personality when we can for a time forget who and what we are and just experience the simple experience of just being alive - in the beautiful, wider and wonderful world of nature itself.
We all cherish the times when we have experienced that simple and uncomplicated state of just 'being' - no longer thinking or feeling - just being.
These are the times however, that support us throughout the many pains and problems we have to fact in life as we remember how safe we are in the comfort of the greater life around us.
It is a common experience in solitude to let go the pettiness, the problems, and to rediscover the seemingly limitless life energies that teem in every atom and every living life form.
We learn to 'let go' and in letting go our inner established tangles, we become renewed and revitalized in a new and increasing awareness of our identification with the universal life and values instead of any particulars.
It is as we expand and open wide our being to life that we feel better, bigger, more powerful, more integrated and whole.
We feel safe, we feel appreciative and blessed with the gift of our life, we find our heart refreshed and loving, more loving and feel loved.
These are the many experiences shared by those who know solitude and its pleasures.
But we must feel ready to be alone.
Some of us are nervous even in brief periods of solitude.
Some feel lonely in their aloneness, particular when having known the pleasure of shared life journeying and company.
Some never lose the yearning for this type of fulfillment in sharing.
Many of us yearn for a fulfillment we have never found, in spite of our desire.
Others happily choose to travel alone in their vital adventurous push towards their goal and the distant summit.
Inevitably no matter our chosen style of travel or the nature of our companions we each retain our singular soul identity and arrive at our eventual destination, alone.
To know something about our spiritual destination is the interest and the reward for those who meditate and for those who experience the wonderful soul strengthening joy found in periods of solitude.