Solitude!  Nothing recharges my weary batteries like some good old fashioned peace and quiet.  After a long week at the office or just a tough day of the same ole same ole, few things relax me more than a heaping helping of solitude.  The kind where the only sounds you can hear come from the wind dancing with the trees and the birds playing tag.

        This photo was taken on such a day.  The air was thick with fog and overflowed with the silent noises of a perfect day.  I awoke with the rising of the sun and traveled a gravel road that stretched invisibly before me; hidden in the hungry mist.  As I turn into the lazy curve I was pleased with the welcome I received.  So I did the only thing I could do; park the car and stroll with my good friend Solitude.

        Thinking back upon that day I wonder why I spend so many days without one thought of solitude.  For some crazy reason I choose to crowd my days with scraps of noise, hurriedness and a hectic list of mindless activities instead of simply slowing down and enjoying the uncomplicated pleasures that surround me every day.

        My challenge to you today is to find a friend and invest a few moments breathing the sweet fragrance of solitude.  You might be surprised how well you can know a person after just a few moments spent in friendly solitude.  What a winning combination; companionship and solitude.  Next time you feel like your batteries are getting weak try plugging into my charger; solitude.  Remember, happiness is a choice; choose to treat yourself to some friendly solitude.

Something to think about:

• Language has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone, and the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.

• Anyone with a heart full of friendship has a hard time finding enemies.

• Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.

• God evidently does not intend us all to be rich, or powerful, or great, but he does intend us all to be friends.

• Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying, but the never needing to say is what counts.

• The comfort of having a friend may be taken away, but not that of having had one.

• When there are friends, there is wealth.

Thankful to be blessed with great friends
Rickey Moore