Solitude

Much is made in paleo circles of the importance of engaging in a “tribe”, whether it be family, neighborhood, church family, or even a stone-age tribe, should you happen to have one.  (And I don’t mean old Flintstone episodes)!  In fact, I am one of those espousing the essential nature of having a tribe.  It really is a necessary thing, for both physical and mental health.

 

BUT, the yin to the yang of that idea is that each of us, whether we realize it or not, needs solitude.  And I don’t mean just being alone to go on Facebook, or to shop on Ebay- I mean being completely alone, with not telephone, cell phone browsing, computer surfing, or television watching- I mean just YOU.  I want to say “no electronics”, but that’s not right either- electric lights and such are fine; after all, how can you read otherwise in the dark, unless you are like Abe Lincoln by the fireplace light?

 

Constantly interacting with others is NOT OK- it is a sign of dependence, and is not healthy if done to excess.  Humans need to have time alone; time to reflect, to get back in touch with their very natures.  In the modern, electronically connected world, this is increasingly hard to accomplish- but it is even more necessary for all that!

 

I isolated myself today in one of the best ways I know how: I went out to my Fortress of Solitude- my PUB! 

 

“A pub, you say?  How can that be isolating, how can that be regenerative?”  Well, let me tell you.  This pub is right on my property, set well back from my rural house, right back in the woods.  It is nothing more that an 8’ X 14’ Amish built shed that I had hauled there years ago, and my wife and I decorated as an Irish pub.  We outfitted it with a bar, a long couch, chairs and stools.  I also added, since we live in the wilds of Wisconsin, a propane heater that keeps it as toasty as I’d like!   I also run lamps and clocks within it, with a LONG extension cord from the garage and batteries.  It really is like a tiny Irish pub, in the middle of nowhere.

 

Today, in preparation for a stressful upcoming rest of the week, I went down there to ‘rest up’, which more accurately refers to getting in touch with my inner, paleolithic self.  “Hi, PaleoJay, how are you doing?  Let’s spend some time together.”  That’s what I asked myself, and that’s what I did.  Me, myself and I- we might as well have been in the howling wilderness of the far, far north- I could hear the wind howling outside, as I sat with my book on the couch.  The wind, and nothing else.  The light from an old lamp illuminated my pages, and I was utterly immersed for hours.

 

I had brought down a cigar, and eventually smoked it, along with some dark chocolate and a few beers… BAD PaleoJay!   Not really, but