As a writer, I have found that penning thoughts to paper appease difficult emotions that sometimes flood the rivers of my life.

Connections

There are other ways to distract one from hurts and tears. One might consume delicious foods or look to drugs of one sort or another, whether taken in or produced by your own body when in motion. I’ve taken the motion path with much success.

And then there are companions; friends, family, pets, all of which provide and affirm that, even with all of the muck that drags you down and slows your flow, you are not alone.

All of these methods which make your day a happy day, an enjoyable day, a better day, fuel a chemical and physical process, that manipulates you in such a way, that your soul is content and comfortable as if resting in a warm bed made of the softest, fluffiest feathers.

We are very physical creatures. Our overall well being needs continuous comfort or the promise of some to come, in one form or another. Our mind continuously seeks this comfort so the body is able to serve it. If we are lucky, our soul sits on our shoulder, dangles its little feet and enjoys the ride.

Solitude

With all of these distractions, the people, the food and the fun, where exactly does a path of solitude fit in to manage those emotional rivers of life? Is solitude even possible without the risk of drowning?

We have the innate need to be part of something and to be with others, but there is great power in your alone time, when you sleep, when you go out alone, when you are not talking, nor listening to others.

And I almost wrote, when you read, but think about it. You are really not alone. You are listening to someone else talk and living through the author’s words, this post included; however, I would hope your alone self is reflecting within to some degree and will find an answer or two, to what may be ailing you.

With all the advice nowadays coming from all sorts of media feeds, finding solitude is a difficult path, much more so than would be physically possible if we lived, disconnected from the Internet in a rural community of occasional friends or family.

Disconnections

Can we actually be alone these days? We may come home alone, and our solitude has the potential to be consumed by the media feeds. We distract and laugh and read and post, in search of the connection we need the most.

And if you are with someone, how does this virtual social time fit into the life of those closest to you, whether family, a companion or even yourself? How are relationships going to evolve when those you are physically with are not really with you at all?

I feel the answer to these questions is that the media feeds don’t fully meet our needs. Of course the feeds can bring in all sorts of new information that can enhance your life, bring humor and entertain, and if you share with those with you, this can benefit your physical relationships. The risk; however, is when the feeds overshadows your physical connections.

To Garden

When you are tending to a plant in a garden, you are not talking to another plant across the way, or listening to other plants ask for water. You are physically there in that moment, digging a hole in the earth for promise of a new home for a seed or a seedling, or perhaps spending time with a larger tree relocating it to a better place. You are fully there, to ensure the life you are with, is taken care of and all that you do, is then and now, for them and for you.

Of course there are plants all around us, and you will go from one to another and engage and discover, promise and support, love and care for; however, we must not loose sight of the one to one connection that each of us truly need for ourselves and for each other.

So where am I going with all of this flooding river, soul satsifying, feather bed, plant loving rhetoric?

Harmony

In the garden of life, there are times when you must totally commit in the moment to survive. Then there are times when you can pause, stand back, watch, wait and marvel in this place, the world we live in.

When you fully tend to a forest, a tree, a garden, a plant, a seed or another being, you are one with them. You are alive. They are alive. Together you create a happy place of harmony in the rivers of your lives.

❤

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Featured Image – Garden Patio on the Island of Maui, HI