— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
“Solitude, I’ll walk with thee […] And follow in thy steps to heaven.”[1]
John Clare
I’m planning my annual hike in the Scottish Highlands for mid-June. I hope to do a week’s hike alone, at the end of another full and frenetic academic year. When I tell others of my intent, many are surprised that I go off hiking by myself. ‘Alone’ seems to them ‘lonely’ and ‘solitude’ ‘solitary’. But pejoratively is not how I think and feel about this state. I don’t fear solitude; I’m ready for whatever I am to experience; indeed, I look forward to it.
This feeling of mine doesn’t stem from a dislike of other’s company or human society! I believe that we are communal creatures, with an instinct to socialize. Monks choose to live in a community, though praying solo. When it is not desired but is forced on us, solitude can crush the spirit, as ‘correctional services’ know well in prescribing solitary confinement.
Solitude is my preference and is a blessing when ‘the world is too much with me’, when I’m overwhelmed by its cares and concerns. Especially alone in nature I feel free as a cloud, detached, and observing rather than observed. Time and space that I don’t otherwise have open up. Out on an endless moor, I can and do turn inward; I have a license to – indeed, cannot but – explore my mind, heart, and soul.
Solitude increases our perception of our surroundings but also of ourselves. Another – my authentic, my best? – person appears, covered though it may be by midge bites and several days’ beard growth. I’m no longer the person who I thought I was or wanted to be; my identity changes before and within me. I feel fulfilled and yet smaller and less relevant surrounded by Munro peaks.
Through the sounds of brooks, boots, bugs, and the blowing wind can I approach the silence that is God. I appreciate – truly value and am grateful for – the respite that is promised in it. I can contemplate my life and times, address myself and circumstances, and ideally, grow in my spiritual capability. God’s presence is not, however, elsewhere; it is ever within me (and all of us). Paradoxically, I must go out by myself to find it, navigating between signposts on a long-distance trail.
Each of Scotland’s Great Trails that I have hiked over the years makes its own demands, and often the way to the day’s destination has proven wet and wearying. Despite being quite isolated at times, I never feel truly alone; indeed, I feel that I’ve someone beside me, someone who guides me and supports me. Loneliness does not come from being alone nor is it overcome just by being with others. Instead, our loneliness comes from not knowing God, of being without Him.
[1] John Clare, “Solitude”, 1819, https://public-domain-poetry.com/john-clare/solitude-12444.
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 