Do I delight in solitude or not?

~ By Ajahn Pasanno ~

Right now, the normal avenues of social contact and engagement for many people are closed. This can weigh on people. But a helpful question for anyone who is cultivating a spiritual life is: What are the things that are uncomfortable about having extended periods of solitude or extended periods of less social contact?

Now that everything has all of the sudden come to a screeching halt, how much of the business that we assumed was essential and necessary to who we are is actually beneficial? At some point in time this will change. Do we just want to go back to our busy frantic selves as before or do we want to exercise a choice of making things less frantic and less busy?

Rather than obsessing about the things that we don’t have, pay attention to what’s worthy of gratitude. One could look at all the things that are wrong right now and how we would want things to be different, but that leaves one out of balance. While these times are not wonderful at all, we don’t have to make them miserable. And to a large extent, that is how we live all the time. So while these are trying times for everybody, hopefully the time will come when we can look back and say, “That was difficult, but I learned a lot.”

(From ‘Uplifting the Heart,' a Dhamma talk offered at Abhayagiri Monastery on 12 April 2020.)

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For other recent videos of Dhamma teachings at Abhayagiri Monastery (California, USA), please see Abhayagiri Monastery Youtube.

Photograph: screenshot of Abhayagiri Monastery youtube channel