Each day, and the living of it, has to be a conscious creation in which discipline and order are relieved with some play and pure foolishness.
May SartonRead
There is no doubt that solitude is a challenge and to maintain balance within it a precarious business. But I must not forget that, for me, being with people or even with one beloved person for any length of time without solitude is even worse. I lose my center. I feel dispersed, scattered, in pieces. I must have time alone in which to mull over my encounter, and to extract its juice, its essence, to understand what has really happened to me as a consequence of it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of solitude for personal understanding and balance.
In this quote, May Sarton reflects on the duality of solitude and companionship, suggesting that while solitude can be challenging, it is essential for personal clarity and grounding. She expresses that prolonged time with others can lead to feelings of disarray and a loss of self, stressing the need for solitary moments to process experiences and emotions deeply.
Themes
SolitudeBalanceSelf-ReflectionCompanionshipEmotions
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on mental health, one could use this quote to discuss the balance between social interaction and alone time.
More from May Sarton
All quotes →Pain can make a whole winter bright, like fever, force us to live deep and hard.
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She became for me an island of light, fun, wisdom where I could run with my discoveries and torments and hopes at any time of day and find welcome.
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Wrinkles here and there seem unimportant compared to the Gestalt of the whole person I have become in this past year.
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Here life goes on, even and monotonous on the surface, full of lightning, of summits and of despair, in its depths. We have now arrived at a stage in life so rich in new perceptions that cannot be transmitted to those at another stage - one feels at the same time full of so much gentleness and so much despair - the enigma of this life grows, grows, drowns one and crushes one, then all of a sudden in a supreme moment of light one becomes aware of the sacred.
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I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep.... Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain, psychic pain. Sit it out. Let it all pass. Let it go.
May SartonRead
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