No. 29 Solitude–A Gift to Ourselves

Facilitator______________
Date___________________

Group Session Plan from FUSN (This session developed by Leann Diehl and revised by Bob Zeeb)

Chalice/Candle Lighting

Opening Words:

Lie down and listen to the crabgrass grow,
The faucet leak, and learn to leave them so.
Feel how the breezes play about your hair
And sunlight settles on your breathing skin.
What else can matter but the drifting glance
On dragonfly or sudden shadow there
Of swans aloft and the whiffle of their wings
On air to other ponds? Nothing but this:
To see, to wonder, to receive, to feel
What lies in the circle of your singleness. By Marya Mannes, American Journalist

Check-in/Sharing

Topic:
Some believe solitude is the most fundamental of all the spiritual disciplines. In solitude we can hear the soft voices of inspiration. We can find heightened awareness and sensitivity, we can even sense compassion and empathy. In solitude we may find the truth of ourselves, restore our dulled senses and clarify our priorities. Within our own silence, we meet ourselves – and the experience can be rewarding, often life-changing, raising us to heights of ecstasy, self-awareness and creativity. And yet, finding time alone may be our most difficult task in a world of overwhelming responsibilities and obligations.

Select the topic and location for the next meeting

Check-out / Likes and Wishes

Closing Words:

And at some time
in your life
trying to be good
may simply mean
you stop running
and take time . . . . .
to be quiet,
and discover who you are
and where you have been , , , , Sister Corita Kent, Carmelite Nun