In the company of solitude

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

                                                  -William Wordsworth.

The world would have been poorer by this wonderful poem if Wordsworth had not chanced upon those daffodils.

It sometimes crosses my mind how lonely and solitary are two sides of being alone: only a perception away.

What a blessing solitude can be—

It gives you a chance to spend time with the real you,

drawing strength from the innermost nooks of your soul;

knowing what makes you tick;

accepting you as you;

loving you for who you are, flaws and cracks et al.

The Silence of solitude can be quite a wonder:

speaking through the morning sky

Strolling along the parapet, keeping you company

Watching over your shoulder as you touch up the canvas with strokes of thick paint;

Pulling a chair beside you for company while you savour a meal, a sunset, a thought.

Tucking you into bed each night and watching guard over you while you frolic into Neverland.

While Lonely leaves you cold.

Forlorn.

Unloved.

Forgotten.

Abandoned.

If only we would stop surrounding ourselves with the noise of our every day,

stop seeking comfort in blind chatter,
learn to sink comfortably in the arms of occasional solitude;
reach deep within and listen to its soundless strains;

We’d be much stronger, secure individuals.