Mmh thank you, Jeff. A good first read today after finishing a 10 day vipassana meditation course in Korea were I didn't speak and rarely made eye contact with anyone. You pose interesting questions here regarding the balance between solitude or loneliness and community. The element of choice comes up for me. I agree national parks give us the invaluable and rare opportunity to alone. It's also becoming harder to find healthy opportunities for people to live and engage in tangible community. I miss Conserve School as an ideal place where staff and students had access to both.
I hear you. There are twinges of missing Conserve for me as well, and likely always will be (particularly this past week when we lost a young man from CS7 in a motorcycle accident). We all need people and places of silence. It is, as you say, about balance. -- Jeff
As always , I felt the connection… your story , Pictures and experiences leave questions to ponder , inside our own hearts. It felt like I just took a walk around Hermit island as well … what a beautiful morning.
Awesome photos as always. And you know where I stand on being alone: NO! I've already told Roy I never want to be completely alone. But you do have a very valid point. Why is it that we search for a space or place to feel at peace...to seem alone, similar to what is required to forest bathe. Most of our photography leads us to places that are exactly like this. Calming, quiet where the only thing you hear is the rush of a waterfall or the songs of birds. When we are on location we barely talk to each other. We keep a sharp eye out for where the other is...just in case. But other than that we pretty much are alone. I believe that combined feeling of forest bathing and the silence and solitude of taking a photo, searching for your own personal beauty is in its own way enough alone time, to have kept us married for 47 years. Being retired and having an empty nest contributes to that peace and solitude. Yes to the fact...I do have a bit of a hermit in me. Love to you and your's Jeff!
Thank you Carol. I do think the tightrope between solitude and loneliness can be a treacherous journey but one well worth attempting in my view. Thanks for commenting.
Mmh thank you, Jeff. A good first read today after finishing a 10 day vipassana meditation course in Korea were I didn't speak and rarely made eye contact with anyone. You pose interesting questions here regarding the balance between solitude or loneliness and community. The element of choice comes up for me. I agree national parks give us the invaluable and rare opportunity to alone. It's also becoming harder to find healthy opportunities for people to live and engage in tangible community. I miss Conserve School as an ideal place where staff and students had access to both.
I hear you. There are twinges of missing Conserve for me as well, and likely always will be (particularly this past week when we lost a young man from CS7 in a motorcycle accident). We all need people and places of silence. It is, as you say, about balance. -- Jeff
As always , I felt the connection… your story , Pictures and experiences leave questions to ponder , inside our own hearts. It felt like I just took a walk around Hermit island as well … what a beautiful morning.
Thank you Elaine.
Awesome photos as always. And you know where I stand on being alone: NO! I've already told Roy I never want to be completely alone. But you do have a very valid point. Why is it that we search for a space or place to feel at peace...to seem alone, similar to what is required to forest bathe. Most of our photography leads us to places that are exactly like this. Calming, quiet where the only thing you hear is the rush of a waterfall or the songs of birds. When we are on location we barely talk to each other. We keep a sharp eye out for where the other is...just in case. But other than that we pretty much are alone. I believe that combined feeling of forest bathing and the silence and solitude of taking a photo, searching for your own personal beauty is in its own way enough alone time, to have kept us married for 47 years. Being retired and having an empty nest contributes to that peace and solitude. Yes to the fact...I do have a bit of a hermit in me. Love to you and your's Jeff!
Thank you Carol. I do think the tightrope between solitude and loneliness can be a treacherous journey but one well worth attempting in my view. Thanks for commenting.
Beautifully written, Jeff. I could see what you wrote, feel the emotions of your words, and learned much about myself. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you Cheryl.