Splendid Isolation

Going to lunch with my friend, Suzanne is always a special treat, because this internationally renowned artist understands the creative process. I asked her, “What do you need before putting brush to canvas?” “Solitude,” was her answer. “But,” she added, “right now I’m working on a painting in my mind.”

Willie Sutton said, “It’s a rather pleasant experience to be alone in a bank at night.” Of course, he said it while shoveling money into a burlap bag, but in a weird way he too understood the joys of solitude.

Often people will ask me where I get my ideas. Ideas are easy. Developing them in a creative new way requires the freedom of self-isolation. There is a difference between choosing to be alone or loneliness, because solitude never hurts unless it drives you nuts.

For those of you who can’t stand being alone with yourself, the best way to describe it is--- I’m the one who would like to be the only person in the forest to hear the tree fall---and then write about the experience. Solitaire is a card game for one player, but it is also a diamond set by itself. I prefer diamonds.

Of course, I am fiercely devoted to my friends and enjoy a raucous get-together probably more than most people, but periods of silence are needed to stimulate the imagination.

On a rainy day, throw a blanket over the dining room table and watch a child create a tent or a castle. Give a toddler a gift in a big box and see him discard the toy in favor of the box. Buy a house with a climbing tree and a swing. Then unplug the electronics and send the kid outside. She will discover that solitude is sometimes the best company.

So what do I think about when I hike alone in the mountains? This is what I pondered today: “If Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England had known that he would end up in a parking lot would he have offered his Kingdom for a horse or a BMW?”

Esther Blumenfeld (“Share your loneliness. Treasure your solitude”)