Discover the Art of Loneliness

Photo by: Stefano Klima

As children we could easily get lost in our own imaginations, playing by ourselves on a patch of grass or our bedroom floors. But somewhere on the journey to adulthood, we forgot the fascination of silence, the pleasure of sitting on a lonely bench, of dancing with ourselves and even being a bit adrift. We tend to fear the idea of sustained solitude, but a life lived largely alone can be far more enriching than we thought. Throughout history, all kinds of thinkers, writers, artists and musicians have delved into the subject of loneliness. Here are the lessons they've shared with us.

Photo by: Lomography

Learn to Enjoy Your Own Company

Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky's message to young people, delivered while leaning placidly against a tree, is a timeless bit of wisdom. “I think I'd like to say only that they should learn to be alone and try to spend as much time as possible by themselves,” he says. The director muses on the importance of finding comfort in our own company, reminding us that we “shouldn't grow bored with ourselves.” Being alone gives you freedom to think and act for yourself. Eat solo, wander along the sidewalks of an unfamiliar city, embark on a solitary adventure and enjoy the ability to be alone with your thoughts, free to work them out without others' opinions.

Photo: Imagetargets

Solitude Is Essential for Creative Work

Ernest Hemingway conceived of loneliness as a necessary motor for creativity. “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life,” he said during the Nobel Prize Banquet Speech. In fact, loneliness seems necessary to light and sustain the creative flame. Many writers, musicians and artists seek solitude to let their inner lives flourish undisturbed by the outside world. By cherishing their lonely experience they cultivate their autonomy. In Walden, Henry David Thoreau touches on the theme of isolation, yet he isn't entirely alone on Walden Pond. What he exposes about solitude is not necessarily isolation, but rather introspection. In 1857, Charles Dickens set out on a 30-mile walk that was later repeated by his character Pip in Great Expectations. Allowing the mind to wander leads to incubation, the second stage of the creative process outlined by English social psychologist Graham Wallas. The record of meditative and lonesome artists is almost infinite, from French-American artist Louise Bourgeois to poet T.S. Eliot. There is no shortage of examples of how one's own self is an unequaled companion.

Nighthawks: David Hopper

"I Probably Am a Lonely One"

It's easy to identify with one of the most outstanding realist painters of the 20th century. Although he denied loneliness was a deliberate creative motif within his work, Edward Hopper's vision of reality is deeply associated with nostalgia and isolation. In Nighthawks, we see a brightly lit diner at night and four uncommunicative figures who seem lost in their own hidden thoughts. The restaurant on New York's Greenwich Avenue that inspired the artist appears to be a refuge for the isolated. “Unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city,” Hopper said in reference to the work. There is something so familiar about the aloneness of his oeuvre, evident as well in the gas station of Gas or in Hotel Room, where a woman sits by herself, holding a piece of paper. While these lonely characters may seem distant at first, the solitary spaces they occupy aren't foreign to us — many of us belong to the lonesome tribe. Loneliness, as a place, is one we all visit. Our sojourns there remind us to check in with ourselves every now and then. In fact, it should be cultivated, as it gives us intimacy so rarely found in this pixelated world.

Photo by: Imagetarget