Mimosa Blossom, originally uploaded by Shirley Buxton.
I had dressed, eased through my bedroom door, softly turned the lock on the front door, and walked into a glorious August morning in the community of Catalina, just north of Tucson. It was shortly past dawn. We were house guests of the Bob Allen family, at whose church on Wednesday evening, Jerry had preached. Now, though, the household lay asleep, and I, fully awake, stood surveying their magnificent gardens.
Around the corner of the house, I came upon a folded lawn chair, tugged it open, and sat. And sat. Tender air ruffled soft leaves of scores of plants, fountains and waterfalls played, and the tiny creek bubbled and bounced. Dozens of birds fluttered around me, the ground was abuzz with activity, and from somewhere in the trees over my head, I picked up the cottony coo of a grey dove. Butterflies flitted, bright yellow flags of morning.
For more than an hour, I didn’t move, but drew in wide draughts of solitude. I pondered, philosophized, and gazed. Such a stance was a wild divergence from that of last week when I was in Santa Maria, and lay as juxtaposition to the remainder of the day, for when the others were up and about, we would experience a day chock full of brilliant activities.
I’m of the mind that solitude is as necessary for the id and for the soul as is food for the body and exercise for the muscle. Quiet reflection refines. It replenishes the spirit, lends insight, and sorts through our maze of daily issues. Silent moments expand our vision, tune our ear, and search our souls.
Give such a gift to yourself. From busyness, sculpt a warm nook where for an hour or so you can hunker down and suck in deep swallows of reflection and of soul-awareness.
17 replies on “A Snip of Solitude”
Thank you for the wonderful post and pictures. Solitude sometimes seems like something that we don’t have enough of in the busy, hectic-paced life. But oh so necessary. I’m thankful for the way my husband has fixed up our backyard. It reminds us of the garden of Eden, and we like to sit out there after dinner or when the sun is setting and just bask in the peace. Sometimes a little hummingbird will flit by and say hi to us! I think I hear God’s voice better when I’m still.
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What a wonderfully written post! You are sooo right, we all need solitude to recharge and fill up!
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Yes, Chloe is still here and we are having a wonderful time with her! She’s so much fun! I think I just might be spoiling her a little bit. 🙂 Oh, well, isn’t that what Aunties are for?
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Good morning, Dean.
I’m glad you have God and His Word to comfort you in these sad days for your family.
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Thanks for a wonderful pause in a hectic world. Psalms 46:10 is so true to me today…..”Be Still and Know….” Peace
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Good morning, Carol and Linda.
Yes, such times are critical for our wellbeing , and we should consider them as such. While I don’t have trouble with it myself, some people feel guilty if they are not rushing around “doing” something.
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Thank you for the “walk in the garden”. It’s nice to stop and ponder.
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Hi Sister Buxton,
I love the picture of the Mimosa blossom. I too, enjoy solitude. That is part of the reason why I try to get up every day before anyone else in my household. A former pastor of mine once said, “If you don’t take time to come apart, you’ll come apart.” I would definitely rather come apart in the former way than in the latter. 🙂
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There you are, Daniel! Hello and welcome. If you were here, I would give you a friendly hug.
What’s been up without you? Loneliness, of course. I’ve missed you so much, and have occasionally gone to your site to see if you were talking yet.
Fill me in on your life. Come on now, let’s hear it.
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Hey Shirley. How are you? Whats been up without me?
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Thank you, Helen.
Jolene, it’s probably these frantic, disorderly moments that make us so treasure our snippets of solitude. Take a deep breath…and sit. 🙂
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Hello, Mervin. You’re right. The gardens of the Allen family share kinship with those in which David wandered.
(I’m not ignoring the disc you sent to me, or your questions about it. I’ve hardly been home at all since camp meeting–less than an hour ago arrived back to Lake Havasu from Tucson. I have so much going this weekend that it will probably be Monday before I can check out the pictures. Forgive me for the delay, and please don’t think me ungrateful for your work.)
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Tena, sounds as though you have moved into the admirable position of an elder, caring aunt. Neat. Is Chloe still there with you?
Bless little Grayson. I feel so deeply for those children. (For those who are reading this and may not know, the father of Grayson and his four siblings was killed in a boating accident a couple of years ago.He was a brilliant young attorney.)
Thanks for sharing this story of Grayson and the suitcase. If I were in San Diego, I’d rush right over and help him pack. 🙂
Love you
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Sis. Buxton, This post is exactly what I needed to read. Today was just one of those days. My daughter has been very ill so she was at my house hanging out so I could help her with the babies. One is teething and she is very fussy and the other one has colic and he is cranky. The door bell to the office seemed to ring nonstop and so did the cell phone and home phone, as well as the office phone (we run an apartment complex). Then the school called and said that my grandson fell in a mud puddle and needed some clean clothes. When I got back home I found one of the washers in the laundry room decided to flood. I thought to myself “what next?” then quickly I rebuked myself for asking that question.
Everyone is gone now and I am here alone. HALLELUJAH!!!! I opened up your blog and began to read. It was as though I felt such a peace come over me and all is well. With my fan blowing softly and reading the words of your writing, it is as if I stepped into the setting of your surroundings you have written about. Yes, a snip of solitude. Just what I needed. There is nothing more relaxing than a moment alone with just me and my Lord. Even if it’s just strolling through the recess of my mind down memory lane of all His wonderful blessing.
God bless!
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Sis: Buxton:
Might you have found a modern day place, like the one David portrated in the 23th Pslam?
Mervin
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This is one of your best posts. Even your words bring peace. Much as we love family, fellowship, fervent worship, social activity, physical
activity, . . . the soul pines to be silent – to be alone, but never alone. Giving oneself the “gift of solitude” is the least selfish act a person can perform. In silence, God whispers, “You are my beloved.” And in silence, we believe Him.
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Oh, Sis. Buxton, I feel relaxed just reading this post. Sighhhhhhh…
Unfortunately, I don’t do this often enough. Hmmm, actually, when was the last time? Can’t recall. Oh, well, some day…
This post made me think of Grayson English, my nephew. I was talking to his mommy (my sister), Jennifer English yesterday. She told me this precious little thing he said to her. She was organizing her garage and had picked up a suitcase. Grayson was there and he said to her, “Mommy, is that MY suitcase?” She said, “No, it’s not.” He said, “Well, we need to find MY suitcase so I can go pack it.” She said to him, “Why do you want to pack?” He said, “Because I’m going to Auntie Tena’s house and I’m going all by MYSELF.” Awwwww…So cute! Sounds like he wants some solitude. 😀
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