The Sublime Art of Withdrawal

“One is not obliged to belong so much to all as not to belong at all to oneself.”

~Balthasar Gracian

Many times we feel tied to people and situations, drawn in perhaps beyond our personal control.  This is a horrible reality.

It’s great to just be that fly on a wall at times, hiding — though not fearfully — from a ravenous world.

There are a great many advantages in balancing the volume of our interactions.  People do not tire of us and we remain fresh in their sight.  Time, also, is won back to us, as so much time can be wasted on things that really are of no valid concern to us.

This is not against sincere and life-tending friendship, however, for which we all have need.

But it is about excess.

We should never doubt the peace that exists on the other side of the noise of life.  Suddenly we can find ourselves in this place where nothingness is bliss as fears no longer attach themselves to us, only joy at what life has for us in the present as we bask in a seamless medley consisting the past, present and future — and those pleasant thoughts etched in freedom.

Finally, there is the rather obvious reality of our sacredness to God in being apart from people and life, at least at selected times.

Withdrawal – The Art

For some, withdrawing for peace, silence and solitude is difficult or even impossible, given living situations in the ‘right now’.  Still, the hope remains.  And whilst this hope pervades, we plan.  We enjoy the vision of times to come, alone with God to enjoy the existence of our being.

It occurs firstly in little things; the trip to the toilet or in the shower, for good instance.  The amount of time is not the issue.  It’s the ‘space’ that’s important, for we generally have more than enough space when we’re thinking creatively.

Entire days are taken — if that’s achievable — where we can simply vanish from the prying eyes of the world, to learn how the world would exist without us, for it will.

Then we realise how small we are.  But this is not a bad thing at all.  We actually feel safer in this world when we realise how big it is, the universe and God.  We are safe.

Cosmically Alone with God – All of Us

Alone we have come into this world and alone we will leave it (Job 1:21).  Alone we are many times between those vast poles.

This is not really a scary reality — though many are given to avoid time alone, fearful of boredom or baggage.

Eternal living is very much a ‘now’ reality, in the fact that being blissfully alone is about as good as life can actually be, for here we are with God.

Withdrawal from the rush and worry of life: occasionally done, and enjoyed, is peace.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.