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"Have you been walking on a surface that's uncertain

Have you helped yourself to everything that's empty

You can't live

This way too long

There's more than this

More than this

Have you been standing on your own feet too long

Have you been looking for a place where you belong

You can rest

You will find rest

Have you been holding on to what this world has offered

Have you been giving in to all these masquerades, it will be gone

Let this old life crumble

Let it fade

Let this new life offered be your saving grace

Let this old life crumble

Let it fade"

-Jeremy Camp "Let it Fade"

Do you ever feel like the world is too loud sometimes? It seems like everyone is shouting, hoping that their shouts are louder than the next person's. I don't think it hit me until just now, but I am completely overwhelmed by the over-saturation of media in my life. The economy, the presidential campaigns, the propositions. I am inundated with how many hundreds of points the Dow has gone up one day and back down the next. I can't drive a single mile without hearing Vote Yes on Number X on the radio and simultaneously passing by a yard with Vote No on Number X sign. Then there's McCain this, Obama that. It's everywhere, every moment, and I'm not saying these are not real and relevant issues because of course they are, but I am simply just overwhelmed. 

Lately I've been overwhelmed with other things as well, mainly just my daily routines and responsibilities. Obviously I've not had a chance to update my blog, much less even remember the fact that I have a blog. Yet beyond all these things that are happening all around me, I'm thinking about my own life, my own journey. The song above really captures what is going on in my heart/mind. 

As I considered the questions asked in the song, and as I self-diagnosed the over-saturation of media in my life, a word popped in my head loud and clear: solitude. So then, obviously, I googled the word "solitude" and found this article:

Solitude vs. Loneliness by Hara Estroff Marano

"As the world spins faster and faster--or maybe it just seems that way when an email can travel around the world in fractions of a second--we mortals need a variety of ways to cope with the resulting pressures. We need to maintain some semblance of balance..."

"Otherwise we feel overloaded, overreact to minor annoyances and feel like we can never catch up. As far as I'm concerned, one of the best ways is by seeking, and enjoying, solitude.

From the outside, solitude and loneliness look a lot alike. Both are characterized by solitariness. But all resemblance ends at the surface.

Loneliness is a negative state, marked by a sense of isolation. One feels that something is missing. It is possible to be with people and still feel lonely.

Solitude is the state of being alone without being lonely. It is a positive and constructive state of engagement with oneself. 

Solitude is a time that can be used for reflection, inner searching or growth or enjoyment of some kind. 

Solitude suggests peacefulness stemming from a state of inner richness. It is a means of enjoying the quiet and whatever it brings that is satisfying and from which we draw sustenance.

Solitude is refreshing; an opportunity to renew ourselves. In other words, it replenishes us. 

Solitude gives us a chance to regain perspective. It renews us for the challenges of life." 

I think I'm ready for some solitude...