The Drifters sang:
When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Whilst Oasis said:
Here's a thought for every man who tries to understand
What is in his hands (what's in his hands)
He walks along the open road of love and life
Surviving if he can (surviving if he can)
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say
Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay
But The Beatles did it best when they sang:
I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
and stops my mind from wandering
where it will go
I'm filling the cracks that ran though the door
and kept my mind from wandering
where it will go
And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong
I'm right where I belong
I'm right where I belong
See the people standing there
who disagree and never win
and wonder why they don't get in my door
I'm painting my room in a colorful way,
and when my mind is wandering
there I will go
And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong
I'm right where I belong
I'm right where I belong
Silly people run around
they worry me and never ask me
why they don't get past my door
I'm taking my time for a number of things
that weren't important yesterday
and I still go……
On average, a normal person would sleep for eight hours a day. During those eight hours he’ll be cut off from the rest of the world and happily float around in the land of dreams (or nightmares). On average, a normal person would visit the toilet three times a day; during those times he’ll be cut off from the rest of the world and absentmindedly drift in thought while the deed is being done. On average, a normal person would stamp his feet and walk away from an argument at least once a month. The purpose of storming out would be to seek some peace and quiet (in other words, be alone).
Poets look for time out from the crowd to think up and compose new poems. Singers do it to write or rehearse their songs. Actors do it to memorise their lines. Students revise and learn. Inventors do it to hone their inventions.
Haroon Al Rashid’s sister wrote a memorable poem about the solitude that lovers seek. It went like this:
I concealed the name of my lover from creation
And went over their name in my heart
Oh how I long for an empty valley
So that I can keep calling it out loud!
Sufis talk of Khalwa (solitude). Newton did most of his great work when he spent months in the country to avoid the plague that was ravaging the English cities. Even Hitler built himself the Eagles Nest!
It seems that everyone is looking for some solitude but the world is far too small for all of us to have our own space and the distractions are endless. So, in order for me to sit about and freely think of nothing at all, I humbly say to you all....IGA DURKA DEE!
