A question inspired by Ms. Roula Douglas’ tweets: is your solitude a burden or a best friend?

Today, Bambi read the following tweets by Ms. Roula Douglas. She will translate them for you, below the original French:

First tweet:

“I hate who steals my solitude, without really offer me in exchange company”. Friedrich Nietzsche

Second tweet:

“I think of all those who suffer from solitude, whether they are accompanied, victims of the indifference of those who are supposed to surround them, or whether they are completely alone.

We do not realize to what extent moral violence can be cruel and devastating”.

Many thanks Roula; or journalist and author Azar-Douglas. Nietzsche’ saying is thoughtful. So are your words filled with compassion and elegantly written, as usual.

When either desired or tamed, so to speak, solitude may be different from loneliness. Indeed, loneliness can overwhelm us with emptiness or sadness, at times, whether we are in an involuntary solitude, isolated, or feeling lonely even in our relationships or in highly crowded places.

However, a desired or well tamed solitude gives us the opportunity, both in terms of space and time, to discover oneself, listen to oneself, be creative, do what we want at the moment we want, and at times to simply do NOTHING. Just to be in the present moment, absorb the latter, that is without thinking about neither the past seconds or the forthcoming ones.

Perhaps the above pleasant experience of solitude is like when we are meditating or praying or commuting between cities or continents on a train or on an airplane. The latter is a present moment par excellence where we are being transported by someone else. No need to worry about traffic, whether on the ground or in the air. We can reflect on what we left behind (whether it is work, loved ones, or troubles) and we can dream of what is ahead (whether it is vacation, loved ones at home, or an exciting work destination).

To conclude this post on a musical note, one song comes to Bambi’s mind. It is “Ma solitude” [My solitude] of the late and unique Mr. Georges Moustaki, which has partly inspired the title of this post. The video is sub-titled in English for you convenience.