There are two things that every one of us needs. Now that I’m seeing these words in front of me I realize there are probably are more than two, but go with me on this one – I’m in a flow.
The two things we need are… drum roll please…
- Time alone
- Time with others
Hang with me for a minute. Most of us are good at one of these, but not so good with the other. Most of us make one of these a priority, but probably not the other.
Artists tend to be be great at the alone part. Not so great at the other people part. Artists aren’t big on the social stuff. They say what they need to say through their art. It is their expression. It is their conversation. It is also a mask behind which to hide.
There are others that tend to be great at the social thing, but stink at doing anything alone. They are validated by conversation and interaction, but don’t really like being alone with their thoughts, isolated from the noise of life. They will do almost anything to keep away from deafening silence.
To have one without the other creates an imbalance at best. One of my favorite devotional writers says it this way:
“Talent develops itself in solitude; character in the stream of life.” ~ Henry Drummond
Talent without character is grotesque display of self. Character without talent is a life without impact.
We need both.
To have both, we need solitude and the stream of life. Time alone and time with others.
Maybe it’s time for some balance.
