Evening star., 1955-09-18
Amencas Famous Best Seller GIFT FROM THE SEA
Anne Morrow Lindbergh Seeks the Key
to Serenity in Solitude

the pupil Of the eye. It stares at me, this
mysterious single eye-and stare back.
Now 1t Is the moon, solitary In the sky.
full and round. replete with power. Now it
is the eye of a cat that brushes noise
lessly through long grass at night. Now 1t
is an island, set in overwhelming circles
of waves. alone. f-contained. serene.
How wonderful are iSlandsl Islands In
about by miles of water, linked by no
bridges, no cables. no telephones. An is
land from the world and the worlds life.
Islands In time, like this short vacation
Of mine. The past and the future are cut
of; only the present remains. Existence
in the present gives island living an ex-
treme vividness and purity. One lives like
child or saint In the iInmediacy OF
here and now. Every day. every act. Is an
island. washed by time and space. and
has an islands completion. People, too.
become like islands In such an atmosphere.
self-contained. whole and serene: re-
specting other peoples solitude, not In
truding on their shores. standing back In
reverence before the miracle Of another
individual mo man is an island" said
John Donne. feel we are all islands
in common sea.
We are all, In the last analysis. alone.
And this basic state Of solitude is not
something we have any choice about. It
is. as the poet Rilke says. mot something
that one can take or leave. We are soil
tary. We may deiude ourselves and act a.
though this were not so. That is all. But
how much better it Is to realize that we
are so, yes, even to begin by assuming 1t.
Naturally" he goes on to say. I'VE win
turn ,giddy."
Naturally. How one hates to think Of
oneself as alone. How one avoids 1t. It
seems to imply rejection or unpopu-
larity. An early wallflower panic still
clings to the word. One will be left. one
fears, sitting in q straight-back chair
alone, while the popular girls are already
chosen and spinning around the dance
floor with their hot-palmed partners.
We seem 80 frightened today Of being
alone that we never let 1t happen. Even
II family, friends, and movies should fail.
there Is still the radio or television to
fill I'D the void. Women, who used to
complain Of 1onliness need never be alone
any more. We can do our housework
with soap opera heroes at our side. Even
day-dreaming was more creative than
this: it demanded something of oneself
and it fed the inner life. Now. instead
Of planting our solitude with our own
dream blossoms. we choke the space with
continuous music, chatter. and compan-
ionship to which we do not even listen.
It Is simply there to Ill the vacuum.
When the noise stops there Is no inner
music to take its place. We must re-
learn to be alone.
It d o difficult lesson to learn today
to leave ones friends and family and
deliberately practice the art Of solitude
for an hour or day or week. For me.
the break Is the most difficult. Parting
is inevitably painful, even for short
time. It Is like an amputation. feel. A
limb Is being torn OF. without which ]
shall be unable to function. And yet. once
IL Is done. find there is quality to being
alone that Is incredibly precious. Life