Bird Droppings January 23, 2026
Maybe some snow and ice and silence

“I have never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are, for the most part, more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.” Henry David Thoreau, Solitude, Walden, 1854

There has been an attraction to Thoreau for me for a number of years; perhaps, when I actually started reading his words rather than simply skimming, it hit me. I recall so little from high school, yet I know his name came up a couple of times. I was out watching the clouds for snow and ice to come later through the weekend. The forecast has been consistent; we are getting an ice storm. I enjoy it here in Georgia when we have snow, or when it is icy, it becomes a silent world, with snow falling and on the ground. The air is still too warm for snow, but the forecast shows it getting to around freezing by midday tomorrow. Perhaps it is Thoreau’s affinity for the woods and outdoors that has caught my attention, as I tend to spend a lot of time reflecting and in solitude.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Henry David Thoreau, 1854

It has been a few years since I wandered off into the mountains to walk regularly. I have been content to go out into my yard early in the day, when all is at rest, listening and watching; there are lessons to learn. Each breath and sight is a lesson if we allow it to be. Every new smell or sound is profound. I find something new each day as I walk out: a star I have never seen, an owl hooting off in the distance, perhaps a dove calling early in the morning. Several months back, I watched a dove cooing from a pole as I walked out on Panama City Beach one morning. The waves hitting against the beach and a dove were my morning sounds.

“We live in a very tense society. We are pulled apart… and we all need to learn how to pull ourselves together…. I think that at least part of the answer lies in solitude.” Helen Hayes

I can be confusing at times; seeking solitude in a crowded world often brings questions from the masses. Most people congregate in flocks like sheep, wanting the companionship and close company. I enjoy that briefly but I would much rather return to my own thoughts and seek quiet in another way.

“It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.” K.T. Lang

Far too often, we become so overwhelmed by our own existence that we lose track of where we are. Daily, I meet people who have nothing but their “friends,” no real words at all. All existence is that façade of their material world.

“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.” Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

“By all means use sometimes to be alone. Salute thyself; see what thy soul doth wear.” George Herbert

I remember my first trip to the Trappist Monastery in Conyers, Georgia. The Trappist monks farm and work in various crafts. They have a store that sells produce, baked goods, and, of course, their handicrafts. I recall one of the brothers, a stained-glass artisan, who was famous for several churches in the Atlanta area, all within a world of silence, as Trappists take a vow of silence. But there is always calm among them.

“Only in quiet waters do thing mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.” Hans Margolius

I have spoken with several people in recent days whose minds are not clear and whose perceptions are distorted. It is so difficult to try to calm a ripple in a pool of water. It literally has to continue to the side of the pool. You can distract it and send another ripple, which occasionally collides with, interferes with, and cancels out the first. But also, they can join forces and be twice the ripple and distortion.

“Solitude shows us what should be; society shows us what we are.” Robert Cecil

An interesting statement, but as I ponder, sooner or later, even Thoreau had to walk to town.

“The great omission in American life is solitude; not loneliness, for this is an alienation that thrives most in the midst of crowds, but that zone of time and space, free from the outside pressures, which is the incubator of the spirit.” Marya Mannes

If only we could make use of solitude, but for too many, it’s feared. We seek companions, we seek that herding instinct.

“In solitude, where we are least alone.” George Gordon, Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

Then I watch the news and see how we are all intertwined. A moment’s peace is broken by five minutes of news and a world being torn apart. Perhaps not enough solitude, but I wonder if it would help. Send all the people wanting war off by themselves, and send all the people who are seeking more wealth off by themselves, and then wealth has no meaning. What good is more wealth if you have nothing else to buy?

“Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that’s where I renew my springs that never dry up.” Pearl Buck

Another week is getting to the end; soon, spring will be here again. I still have several flats of plants to get in the ground. As I sit and ponder, for the moment, please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts namaste.

My friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin

(We are all related)

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