solitude
This documentary project is a celebration of solitude. Solitude is an important part of the creative process for me. Many people have described how solitude helps them creatively. I know I take my best photographs when I make the time to go out and find a place were I can focus on seeing. For this documentary project, I took the opportunity to spend time alone in one of my favourite outdoor spaces, with no time limits, in order to create my own version of solitude.
"The monotony and solitude of a quiet life
stimulates the creative mind." ~ Albert Einstein
Solitude often gets confused with loneliness, however they can be very different. Loneliness can be very painful, and has been associated with a decline in mental health. A 2021 Harvard Graduate School of Education study found that 36% of Americans felt lonely "frequently" or "almost all the time" during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rates of loneliness among young people was as high as 61%. This study recommended increased social supports and community connectedness to help people cope with these concerning statistics.
Solitude, on the other hand, is the state of being alone by choice. During the pandemic, most of us were forced to spend much more time alone than we wanted. Personally, I felt a lot of anxiety during this time. The way I coped with it was to go on long hikes. Through this activity, I realized that getting out in nature helped me feel less lonely, and allowed me to actually start enjoying some of this time away from other people. Although this was a very difficult time for everyone, it also provided the chance to slow life down, reconnect with ourselves, and explore new activities.
"We need to remember and to teach our children that solitude can be a
much-to-be-desired condition. Not only is it acceptable to be alone,
at times it is positively to be wished for. It is in the interludes between being in
company that we talk to ourselves. In the silence we listen to ourselves.
Then we ask questions of ourselves." ~ Maya Angelou
While creating this documentary project, I learned that the value of solitude that I found during the pandemic also benefits me creatively. The time I spent taking photographs for this project reminded me that it's when I'm out on my own, just me and my camera, that I enjoy photography the most.
Now that life is mostly back to normal, and the busyness of work and school takes up so much of my time, I need to remember to schedule regular periods of solitude in order to feed my creativity.
The personal and creative benefits of solitude will be one of the enduring lessons of the pandemic for me.
"A little while alone in your room will prove more valuable than
anything else that could ever be given you." ~ Rumi
References
“Making Caring Common Project.” Harvard Graduate School of Education, February 2021,
https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america
