Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Solitude and Community

"Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one's self. It is not about the absence of other people -- it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others. Community does not necessarily mean living face-to-face with others; rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other. It is not about the presence of other people -- it is about being fully open to the reality of relationship, whether or not we are alone."
~Parker J. Palmer in A Hidden Wholeness

This puts a whole new spin on solitude and community for me. You?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah!

Mich

dawna said...

indeed.

Anonymous said...

I was feeling so awful today about myself and my life (which is very solitary) but then (once again) I open your blog and find a post that speaks deeply to me. Thanks!

Sue said...

Yes, I'm thinking that this is a book that I may need to investigate further. :) thanks for the recommendation.

Heidi Renee said...

i'm so glad you're reading this. i enjoyed it so much. it truly could only be written by someone who is so in touch with himself and has lived so fully in a gentle community.

thanks for the reminder!