Solitude: a terrible punishment or a wonderful conquest?
Solitude as both a refuge and a source of creativity
“Solitude can be a terrible punishment or a wonderful conquest.“
Bernardo Bertolucci
Today, teamwork is considered one of the most crucial soft skills. Undoubtedly, collaboration with others forms the foundation of nearly every profession. Our society is intricately interconnected, and for a significant portion of the day, we find ourselves engaging with others.
However, amidst this trend, there is a decline in our ability to be comfortable with solitude. Many individuals perceive being alone as challenging or uncomfortable and consider solitude as a completely negative experience. In this article, we will explore the positive aspects of solitude.
A post pandemic reflection
In the recent history, there was a time when the world appeared to stand still, encapsulated by an eerie silence that blanketed the streets, starkly contrasting with the inner chaos of minds relegated to isolation.
This was the epoch of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period marked by an unprecedented slowing of time. As governments across the globe mandated physical distancing to curb the spread of the virus, an unintended consequence emerged in the form of emotional and social distancing.
The frame of daily life, previously entwined with the presence of friends, relatives, and acquaintances, began to unravel.
The very essence of human connection faced a profound disruption.
Homes, traditionally places of refuge and warmth, transformed into solitary confinements. The doors that once swung open in welcome were closed, not out of choice, but necessity, creating an isolation that extended beyond the physical to touch the very soul of society.
In this era, the world grappled with a dual reality: the visible, where streets lay empty and quiet, and the invisible.
Hearts and minds wrestled with the solitude imposed upon them.
The mask and the spectre of solitude
Since a young age, solitude has never represented an abyss to fear for me, but rather a refuge in which to find myself. The quiet of isolation was my sanctuary, a place where I could recharge my energy. Immersed in the multitude, we often wear masks, heavy veils that hide our true essence. And these masks, as well-made and realistic as they may seem, weigh on our faces like boulders.
As Luigi Pirandello wrote:
“You will learn at your own expense that in the long journey of life, you will encounter many masks and few faces.”
According to Pirandello’s conception, the mask is the identity that each individual chooses (or rather, “the person is chosen by the mask”). The individual identifies with these masks in order to interpret his or her role within the community. In the fog of the human condition, Pirandello leads us in a subtle and penetrating reflection on the multiple identities we assume.
Isn’t it unsettling, as the great playwright suggests, that our existence is a continuous alternation of masks?
Every situation, every encounter, every exchanged glance pushes us to wear a different face, like actors on a stage where life itself is the play being performed.
With family, we wear the mask of the devoted child, the protective sibling, or the loving parent.
In the workplace, we transform, adapting our face to the demands of the role: the collaborative colleague, the diligent or wayward employee, the authoritative boss. And with friends?
Ah, with them the turnover of masks becomes even more complex. With friend X, we could be carefree, those who only know how to have fun; while with friend Y, we take on the role of the counselor, the sage who guides.
But in this incessant game of reflections and shadows, where does our true self lie?
Pirandello invites us to question ourselves, to probe the depths of the soul, to seek that truth hidden behind the infinite series of masks. And perhaps, on this introspective journey, we could discover that the true essence of being resides not in the mask we wear, but in the moment, we choose to remove it.
We live in a world that does not invite us to reveal our true nature, but rather to project a distorted image, a shadow of our most superficial and immature desires. In this tango of appearances, we are ready to sacrifice others and, even more tragically, ourselves, in the name of a false, ephemeral, or narcissistic image of our being.
It is a characteristic of our society: showing authenticity can lead to unpleasant consequences.
The masks we opt to wear offer us protection. At the same time, they deprive us of sincerity, making us like zombies, moving in the stage of a social life, where we project only one-dimensional images of ourselves. “Life is but a walking shadow,” as Shakespeare would say.
Solitude as an inexhaustible source of creativity
Solitude, often perceived as a void to be filled, can be transformed into a fertile ground for the creative soul. It is in these moments of retreat and reflection that the artist, the thinker, or the dreamer can draw on the vital sap of inspiration, free from the distractions and noises of the outside world. This inner peace becomes a laboratory of ideas, a sacred place where original and profound visions are born and developed.
On the contrary, aggregation, while a source of sharing and learning, can sometimes lead to well-trodden paths. The continuous exposure to the ideas of others, if not filtered with discernment, can lead to passive imitation, to a mental flattening where novelty and originality are suffocated.
Moreover, in certain contexts, aggregation can fuel a dangerous will to power, a desire for domination and prevarication that does not aim at authentic mutual enrichment, but rather at selfish and self-serving affirmation.
What I learnt from forced isolation
In the times of forced isolation, due to the coronavirus pandemic, a unique opportunity opened up for us: to look inside ourselves with new eyes and rediscover our true face. For me, that period, despite being marked by challenges and uncertainties, had become a fertile ground for introspection and personal growth.
I’ve learnt that solitude, often feared and avoided, can be transformed into a precious ally, allowing us to reflect on who we really are, far from masks and social representations. It is a moment to distinguish between the innate sufferings of our being and those imposed by external circumstances. In the frenzied confusion of life, we do not understand what comes from ourselves and what is projected onto us by society.
Solitude is the time clean up our mind. When we are alone, the outside world seems to have ceased to exist, our inner world has the opportunity to flourish.
Because, as an ancient and (perhaps excessively cited but not practiced) adage maintains, if one does not find peace within oneself, it will be difficult to find it elsewhere.
May the time for solitude serve as a bridge to a greater understanding of ourselves and others, and may it illuminate the path towards ever deeper and more sincere authenticity.
“Solitude shows us what we should be; society shows us what we are.”
Robert Cecil
Translated from La solitudine: condanna o salvezza? with the help of AI.
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