Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, March 31, 2010

"Solitude is the profoundest fact
of the human condition. Man is the
only being who knows he is alone."

Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, writer, diplomat,
born on this date, 1914. Nobel prizewinner.


There are, I think, several reasons for our knowledge that we are “alone”. If indeed it is true. We don’t really know that this is the case; we only assume it, perhaps in arrogance.

I have found the knowledge of aloneness to be a deep blessing. It has made me appreciate the wonder of being human, of being unique. It has made me understand that I am responsible, that each of us is responsible, for claiming our own lives. No one can live our Life for us. It has also made me understand that there is nothing I need do, that anyone needs to do, to establish my own worth and value. Following from that, that I and each of us has a necessary contribution to make to the wholeness of humanity.

And that is the point as I see it. It seems that we must understand our aloneness because the human race is incomplete – even impossible - without all the Alone Ones. The Human Race is not a bland stew of the lowest common denominator. No. It is a perfectly created dish in which each of the ingredients adds a clearly distinct savour which startles and delights the tongue.

Relish, guard, nurture your Solitude. Grow in it. Do not be afraid of your Aloneness. The more we are filled with Aloneness, the more we then bring to the whole. We are all needed and essential.

Brian+