It begins, "Solitude is out of fashion." Which is true. We seem to have embraced this sort of space-age ideal that we should all be surrounded by our comrades in technology, 24/7. I can't imagine much time for solitude on the Starship Enterprise, or the Death Star, where soldiers march in buddy-pairs everywhere they go. I suppose we can thank George Lucas and his predecessors for our idea of near-constant companionship as the wave of the future.
The irony, of course, is that the authors of such science fiction or works of fantasy undoubtedly spent a huge amount of time alone dreaming up these over-populated worlds.
Which is why this photo is one of my favorites. Hemingway, in Ketchum, Idaho (home of Sun Valley), literally kicking a can down the road. Clearly, he's not entirely alone - someone took the photo - but that feeling of solitude is there. Wide open spaces, an author on an aimless walk, taking a moment of whimsical pleasure just for the sake of his own enjoyment. There used to be a widespread respect for solitude. Perhaps it was a luxury only the upper classes could afford - it's hard to find time for yourself when you sleep with two other people in a room. Perhaps it was just that solitude was so much more within reach - all those hours of involuntary silence before television and cell phones and iPods - you'd be alone with your thoughts one way or another, so you might as well enjoy it.
Now the fashion is noise. Chatter. Small-talk. Socializing. Never eating lunch alone. Networking. Productivity. More, more, more.
There's a quiet but rising voice whispering, "less." Perhaps at the moment, that voice is just kicking a can down an isolated mountain road, but for all who know what they're listening for, it's there, ready to be heard.
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