Difference Between Solitude & Loneliness
Loneliness is much different from solitude and many people confuse the two with each other. Let’s go through the definition of both loneliness as well as solitude and explore
the differences between the two so that we don’t get stuck in a state of confusion:
Loneliness: The state of sadness because one has no friends or company; isolation.
Solitude: The state or situation of being alone.
What’s the difference?
The major difference between these two versions of yourself is how you look at being alone. The version of yourself that can’t stand being alone has many limiting beliefs surrounding the topic of being alone while the version of yourself that loves being alone opens up to the experience and allows the present moment to absorb them fully.
The Version Of You That Despises Alone Time
Let’s take a look at how these two versions of yourself differ in terms of how they view the world within the context of alone time.
Inside the mind of the version of yourself that looks at alone time negatively, you will find that there is a lot of negative self-talk surrounding the topic of being alone. It goes something like this:
“I can’t stand being alone.”
“I feel sad and depressed when I’m alone.”
“I need people around me.”
“I need to be stimulated and distracted in some way.”
“Alone time can’t be enjoyed.”
“Alone time has no impact on my mental health.”
These are just some of the phrases that the version of yourself who dislikes alone time says mentally and following this line of thinking, of course you’ll feel crappy and negatively towards being alone.
How can you have a positive mindset or feeling towards alone time if you think about it in a negative light?
Creating A Love For Alone Time
Creating a joy and love for alone time doesn’t happen over night. It requires patience, humility, and ultimately requires an open mind in order to get to the state where you can thoroughly enjoy your time alone with yourself.
To truly embrace alone time, you must learn to embrace the present moment and the key to getting into the present moment in its raw form is to practice the art of mindfulness.
You must tune in to your senses and view everything in a new light, like a child. Children are always fascinated with the world around them because they carry a sense of wonder with them everywhere they go. They practice the art of mindfulness so perfectly that they lose themselves in the present very often.
Here are a few more things you could do to develop this joy for alone time:
Practice Alone Time
Be Compassionate With Yourself
Learn Mindfulness Meditation
Do Things You Enjoy Doing
Conclusion
I am intimately familiar with the act of being alone mainly because of my daily mindfulness meditation practice that I’ve had for about 3 or so years now. It has been the biggest game changer when it comes to shifting my world view of being alone.
Now, I absolutely delight in the alone time that I have with myself. Every time I go back to being alone, the inner child comes out and I get to view the world in a whole new perspective, mainly from a feeling and place of wonder. I hope you can experience this powerful feeling on your own journey as well.
As a final thought, I will leave you with the quote that I started this post with because it beautifully encapsulates the difference between loneliness and solitude. Take some time to ponder this quote deeply:
“Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.”
Paul Tillich
