Solitude: an essential nutrient

Even during periods when I've made myself busy, I still leave a few hours for solitude each day.

—To meditate, to write, to journal, to talk aloud in the woods, to reflect, to critique, to ponder, to be still, to be grateful, to feel…—

When I don't do this, I invariably begin to feel frazzled, diffused, and somehow separate from the world.

It's weird— I didn't expect solitude of all things to be an essential nutrient!

It feels like if I'm not careful, I could easily go my whole life distracted from what really matters.