Embracing solitude

We often think that solitude means being alone.

Yet it’s possible to feel deeply alone… even in the middle of a crowd.

Surrounded. Connected on the surface.

And still disconnected. From ourselves. From others.

Because true connection has nothing to do with how many people are around us.

It begins within.

I struggled with solitude for a long time.

Whenever I was alone at home, there was always something playing in the background:

the TV, my phone, music, a conversation… anything.

Like an unconscious need to avoid being face to face with myself.

I believed I enjoyed movement, people, noise.

But looking back… I was afraid of silence.

Later, I understood that this need for noise was a distraction.

A way to avoid listening to what was happening inside me.

Because truly listening asks us to face things.

What we feel. What we avoid.

What we don’t dare to admit to ourselves.

Yet it’s only when we listen that we can truly hear.

Solitude is not an emptiness to escape.

It is a space to welcome.

A place to reconnect. A return to self.

It invites us to slow down.

To look at ourselves honestly.

And sometimes, it feels uncomfortable…

Yet it is within that discomfort that we finally meet ourselves.

Why do we avoid it?

Because we associate it with being alone, abandoned, rejected.

Because it strips everything away.

And in a world that values performance, connection, constant activity… taking time to simply be with ourselves can feel almost suspicious.

Yet the truth is simple: if I cannot be with myself,

I will never truly be with another.

I cannot offer what I do not give to myself.

Connecting with others matters.

And it starts with connecting to ourselves.

This connection grows through moments of solitude.

Not imposed. Chosen.

Moments to listen to what is alive within.

What we feel. What we need.

What we have set aside to please, to follow, to adapt.

And silence…

At first, silence can feel intimidating.

Yet it holds a quiet power.

It becomes a mirror.

Then a sacred space.

A place where the soul can rest.

Silence does not judge. It reveals.

And in what it reveals, something softens and opens.

Today, I no longer run from solitude.

I choose it.

Because it is in those moments, alone with myself,

that I reconnect with what is true.

My voice.

My inner peace.

✨ Here are a few questions to explore this theme more deeply:

• Do you sometimes feel alone… even when you’re surrounded?

• When was the last time you truly spent time with yourself?

• If you allowed yourself to listen, fully and honestly… what would you really hear?

Lucas