The other day an acquaintance of mine, a gregarious and charming man, told me he had found himself unexpectedly alone in New York for an hour or two between appointments. He went to the Whitney and spent the "empty" time looking at things in solitary bliss. For him it proved to be a shock nearly as great as falling in love to discover that he could enjoy himself so much alone.
What had he been afraid of, I asked myself? That, suddenly alone, he would discover that he bored himself, or that there was, quite simply, no self there to meet? But having taken the plunge, he is now on the brink of adventure; he is
For anyone who can see things for himself with a naked eye becomes, for a moment or two, something of a genius. With another human being present vision becomes double vision, inevitably. We are busy wondering, what does my companion see or think of this, and what do I think of it? The original impact gets lost, or diffused.
"Music I heard with you was more than music." Exactly. And therefore music itself can only be heard alone. Solitude is the salt of personhood. It brings out the authentic flavor of every experience.
"Alone one is never lonely: the spirit adventures, walking in a quiet garden, in a cool house, abiding single there."
Loneliness is most acutely felt with other people, for with others,even with a lover sometimes, we suffer from our differences of taste, temperament,mood. Human intercourse often demands that we soften the edge of perception, or withdraw at the very instant of personal truth for fear of hurting, or of being inappropriately present, which is to say naked, in a social situation. Alone we can afford to be wholly whatever we are, and to feel whatever we feel absolutely. That is a great luxury!
For me the most interesting thing
I'm lonely only when I am overtired, when I have worked too long without a break, when from the time being I feel empty and need filling up. And I am lonely sometimes when I come back home after a lecture trip, when I have seen a lot of people and talked a lot, and am full to the brim with experience that needs to be sorted out.
Then for a little while the house feels huge and empty, and I wonder where my self is hiding. It has to be recaptured slowly by watering the plants and perhaps,by looking again at each one as though it were a person.
It takes a while, as I watch the surf blowing up in fountains at the end of the field, but the moment comes when the world falls away, and the self emerges again from the deep unconscious, bringing back all I have recently experienced to be explored and slowly understood, when I can converse again with my hidden powers, and so grow, and so be renewed, till death do us part.
相关单词:gregarious
gregarious解释:adj.群居的,喜好群居的
gregarious例句:
These animals are highly gregarious.这些动物非常喜欢群居。
They are gregarious birds and feed in flocks.它们是群居鸟类,会集群觅食。
相关单词:solitary
solitary解释:adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
solitary例句:
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
相关单词:bliss
bliss解释:n.狂喜,福佑,天赐的福
bliss例句:
It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴,因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。
相关单词:plunge
plunge解释:v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
plunge例句:
Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
相关单词:brink
brink解释:n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿
brink例句:
The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。
相关单词:inevitably
inevitably解释:adv.不可避免地;必然发生地
inevitably例句:
In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去,毫无疑问是会散伙的。
Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。
相关单词:diffused
diffused解释:散布的,普及的,扩散的
diffused例句:
A drop of milk diffused in the water. 一滴牛奶在水中扩散开来。
Gases and liquids diffused. 气体和液体慢慢混合了。
相关单词:solitude
solitude解释:n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
solitude例句:
People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。
相关单词:authentic
authentic解释:a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的
authentic例句:
This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。
相关单词:abiding
abiding解释:adj.永久的,持久的,不变的
abiding例句:
He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。
相关单词:intercourse
intercourse解释:n.性交;交流,交往,交际
intercourse例句:
The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。
相关单词:soften
soften解释:v.(使)变柔软;(使)变柔和
soften例句:
Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。
相关单词:converse
converse解释:vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反
converse例句:
He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。
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