As I sit here in hospital, waiting for my son to come out of theatre, my mind is a jumble of thoughts.

Is this time spent waiting a form of solitude?

Henry David Thoreau once said,
“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
But this—this is definitely not solitude.

I worry. I wonder. I hope. I pray.

So how do we dial down the noise of the world?

How do we move beyond surface thoughts and find the kind of stillness that truly restores us—relaxing and refreshing in a space of quiet presence?

I wonder if true meditation is learning to be alone—comfortably, peacefully.
If we find our own company a struggle, maybe we’re avoiding deeper, inner emotions.

But if we can face those emotions…
If we can release the emotional handbrake…
We can grow.

True, deep growth—the kind that sets us free.