Solitude

Finally given up and taken to my bed properly for the day as I have been
struggling with a cold which has turned nasty (I hesitate to call it flu
- lets say it's just a virus), and the legs won't support the body much
at the moment.

I've had a wonderful time over the last six weeks teaching a journal
writing course, in which I  quote some of the writings of Deena Metzger,
an immensely inspiring Writer and Teacher. So today I am hunkered down
with her book "Writing For Your Life" and one particular writing
exercise which I feel very inclined to carry out. It's on the theme of
Solitude - and that is very much where I am at the moment - both
mentally and physically......Want to give it a go as well? Here it
is........choose to do just parts of it if you like - write to whatever speaks to your heart.

(My place of solitude, for a year alone, would be in the cottage from
which the photograph is taken, on the Ardnamurchan peninsula on the
West coast of Scotland)

"Imagine that you are given a year off from your life. This year off
will have no impact-unless you choose for it to-on your domestic,
professional or financial life. There will be no sacrifice required in
order to take this year off, and you will be able to provide yourself
with everything necessary. However, there is one condition that you must
accept in order to take this year off: you will have to spend it
entirely alone, without speaking to anyone.

This exercise, like several of the others, depends on your willingness
to enter the reality of the imagination. After working with the
questions that follow for some time, you may discover that your daily
life will be to reflect the imagined experiences. When you finish.
writing this series, you may have transformed yourself from someone
who dreaded being alone to someone who thrives on solitude.

Consider responding to the following questions as if making journal
entries  during your year away. At the end of the writing, you will have
something resembling a journal of the year. Or write these as small
stories, which, again, at the end of the writing, will become the larger
story of the year in solitude.

1. Imagine that you have a year to pursue your inner life in silence.
You will live alone without telephone or visitors, in the utmost
simplicity.  Where will you go? What solitary environment will suit you?
Do you prefer the mountains, desert, islands? Are you inclined toward
mild or rigorous weather? Do you want to create your own shelter, or
must you find a place that can house you? What basic necessities are you
taking with you? What things will you leave behind? Describe the
environment you have sought for this time. How does it resemble your
present living situation, and how is it different?

2. Write a letter to your loved ones explaining why you're going.

3. Describe single days in your new environment or life during the first
week you're away, during the middle of your retreat, and during the last
week.

4. What are you writing during this year? What creative work are you
doing? What did you expect to do before you left? What did you actually
do?

5. What are your fears? Your discomforts? Your anxieties? Tell some
anecdotes that reveal the difficulty of the situation. What has been the
worst part? What has been the greatest gain?

6. Imagine this retreat in a city rather than a rural area. Which city
do you choose? What does it mean to live in solitude in an urban
setting? How do you live a solitary life in a large city? Compare the
rural time with the city time. What ad- vantages does each have? What
difficulties do you encounter in the city? De- scribe the urban
environment specifically and your particular daily relationship to it.

7. Write the first and last paragraphs of the piece that you complete
during this year.

8. What has it been like to be completely alone? Not to speak? To be
completely dedicated to your work?

9. What were your most significant experiences?

10. Describe your return to your usual life. How have you changed? What
difficulties and joys do you encounter as you return? What have you
gained? What are your regrets? Who are you now? "

Comments

[Fran]

Wow! Wonderful writing exercises--and when I was younger, I would have jumped to have solitude for a year. As I grow older, I just want it in little nips. Hope you are soon feeling better, Roz.

[Jenny]

Roz that is SO imspiring. Thank you for a lovely site, and I too, hope you are soon feeling better.

Jenny.