Solitude

One of the things I have found that I need and now enjoy is solitude. A few years ago I read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s” Life Together”. He says that many people spend time with other people because they are afraid to be alone. I resonated with this fear plus, paradoxically, at times I would isolate myself when I was not in a good space. Bonhoeffer goes on to say, “Let him who is not in community beware of being alone”. I have come to realise that as I am grounded in community, in emotionally and spiritually healthy relationships, I also crave and enjoy silence and solitude, rather than loneliness or isolation. It is a place where I stop, listen and become honest. “In solitude we stop believing our own press. We discover that we are not as good as we thought but we are also more than we thought”. #RuthHaleyBarton This week, make time for solitude. Start gradually, perhaps a 10 minute walk. If you would like to know more about the practice of solitude listen to Ruth Haley Barton's Spotify podcast A leader's journey into Solitude and Silence #solitude #community #leader #selfcarematters Photo by mohammad alizade on Unsplash