"From the solitude of the wood, [man] has passed to the more dreadful solitude of the heart." - Loren Eiseley
When a man embarks on the endeavor of life, he is first woken by a solitude that will accompany him for the rest of his time on earth. When an infant is born, he is confined to a world that is in his own head. His embryonic communication skills sway him to assume that he is alone and this assumption will haunt him for the rest of his life. This loneliness is carried inside of his heart throughout his childhood and into his adult life. Though he develops many means of communication with other beings, in our human world he still feels a forlorn presence that occupies part of his soul.
With this particular quote, Loren Eiseley speaks of two very different natures of solitude. The latter of the two mentioned by Eiseley, is more fatal to human happiness and prosperity. Although both are created by the individual himself, a solitude of the heart is what happens inside of oneself; whereas, solitude of the wood connotes to what is happening around oneself.
Loneliness of heart is what a man is condemned with from his birth and it is his choice to let it flourish or fade. As we grow, we are able to make the choice of allowing others to enter our souls and touch in us, "love and passion, pain and pleasure, grief and comfort" (Daniel E. Gawthrop). Or we make the formidable decision of driving interaction out of our lives and relinquishing our life to the isolation of our own mind. Distance from happiness grows in a private life and a misanthropic sorrow takes the place of love and joy. This solitude, as Eiseley identifies, is one of dread, but even so, each generation becomes progressively more reclusive.
The solitude of wood is a life selected by one who is called out to by nature. A man chooses this life style to gain knowledge of the world around him. He becomes a recluse to find out why it is that his life depends on human interaction, or why it does not. This man does not become bitter toward his fellow earth dwellers; rather he embraces them and finds exuberance in every form of life. Although a seclusion from civilization is still a hiatus in the furors of human life, it is a thing not borne with a man, he can leave is type of solitude behind him and rejoin his brothers. He does not carry the ball and chain of forlorn eyes and hands that are parsimonious toward the men around him. He returns to his brothers with greater knowledge of the world and tells them of his troglodytic exploit.
How does one know the difference between the two genus' of solitude? One can evaluate his perception of desolation by his thoughts of humanity when he is alone. Does he feel bitter and cold toward his friends? Or rather does he feel reverent and more knowledge of the world around him?
No comments:
Post a Comment