Solitude Sandwich Selfie
☯️ Finding balance while alone in good company.
When we hike with our homeschool group, there are moments I enjoy connecting with the kids and moments I enjoy connecting with the adults. Then there is often a point when I am hiking along and realize there is no one visibly in front of me and no one behind… I find myself blissfully alone, but still in good company.
This five minutes or so balances my inherent craving for solitude alongside fruitful connections that rejuvenate me in the healing space of nature.
I feel giddy in this spacious moment of silence—as if I have snuck through a secret passageway to my private universe in the woods—where I am not mom, teacher, healer, wife, sister, daughter, awkward acquaintance, or friend. I am just me. The glowing inner focus is fleeting and is the only time I have ever felt compelled to take a selfie. It gives me a new perspective on people I may have judged who take selfies much more frequently. Rather than seeing it as a self-absorbed pastime, I realize they just spend more time in their me-connected state, which I’m finding to be quite grounding. Much like when I learned to keep “Self View” on in a Zoom meeting so I can focus on my own face and energy when I am empathically feeling overwhelmed by other people’s emotions. Tuning in to my higher self brings things back into alignment.
With some parents and kids on the trail behind, my girls with friends far ahead, I feel sandwiched by the supportive community we have found with shared values for our families and our1 education. This solitude sandwich nourishes my soul and provides the balance I need so I don’t leave feeling drained by too much peopling, despite the 5+ hours spent together. We head home with tired bodies, but full hearts, looking forward to our next journey in these woods.
While there is a familiarity that comes with hiking the same trail each week, the sameness of the route is contrasted by the shifting terrain of Michigan seasons—sometimes experiencing all four seasons in the span of one week! But greater still is the shift we feel in our mind, body, and soul as we traverse this state park. My girls are simultaneously building independence while navigating tricky moments in relationships with friends. Pushing our edges of resilience in weather conditions that used to make us cringe is building their confidence in situations beyond the tree line.
The trail remains steady, but we are reformed each time we set foot upon its path, much like the roots and ground beneath us are in a state of ever-changing growth and decomposition as the old is regenerated. The twists and turns are consistent, but our eyes upon them are anew with expanding perspective that broadens every day. So too may every solitude sandwich selfie appear basically the same (save for the growing murder of crow’s feet that land just behind the branches of my glasses), but I feel distinctly developed in every shot.
I say our education because homeschooling is as much about life-long learning for myself as it is my kids. I grow alongside them in our daily experiences, be it spiritual, emotional, or academic.
I love this concept of a solitude sandwich and I love your selfies! Thanks for sharing :)
I’ve had the phrase “make like a tree and be” rolling around in my head since then- I think it comes from the same feeling. I need to write about it...