Dwain Walden is editor and publisher of The Moultrie Observer.

There is being alone and then there is being ALONE!

I guess I’ve never given this much thought, but apparently many people today don’t really like secluding themselves away very long for deep thinking or even light meditation.

A recent study shows that many people got really bored in such venue.

I’m  not sure why we needed this study. Does this finding in any way impact   the cosmos, gas mileage or the price of eggs in China? Go figure.

 We’ve all known loners who preferred a solitary approach to life. As well, we’ve known those who like a crowd around them. I realize this is not exactly what this study was about but the question arose in this study — do many of us lack the ability to entertain ourselves mentally. In other words, could we sit alone in a room for an extended period and relax with just our thoughts?

Some people apparently cheated during the study, checking their text messages and emails or surfing the web on their I-phones.

I gave it some thought to see where I might fit.

Seldom am I without my I-phone. It’s almost like another appendage for me. But that attachment has mostly to do with business. There are those times when I like to get on that old John Deere and mow pasture. It makes so much noise I can’t hear the phone ringing. And it rattles so badly, I can’t feel the phone vibrate. But I know the phone is there so I can stop and check ball scores, make a call or write myself a memo if I so desire. So am I alone in the context of this study? Probably not.

Now I don’t like crowds. I would rather get a prostate exam than go to an amusement park or some place where I’ve got to fight traffic. In my own way, I like to stop and smell the roses or maybe a steak grilling in the backyard. On occasions, I’ve enjoyed just taking a walk in the woods. Maybe sit on a stump and listen to the many sounds nature has to offer and appreciate the fact that I don’t live in a Third World country — not that I had any choice of where and to whom I was born, but I feel very fortunate in that regard.

But like I said, there also is ALONE!

When I was a teenager, I spent a night in the swamp without a flashlight. I was running set hooks for catfish, and I dropped my flashlight in the creek. As well, I didn’t have anything with which to start a fire. There is dark and there is DARK!

When you turn the flashlight off but you know that you can turn it right back on, that takes the edge off. But when it goes out and you know it won’t come back on, well that adds a new dimension to the issue.

Not only that, when you have to sit there until sunrise, it’s amazing how much more you can hear. In that context you don’t get bored. In fact, your imagination will run wild. Every monster movie you’ve ever seen manifests itself in that time and place.  And even though you know there’s not a critter around that will attack you, it’s very difficult to embrace such logic like it was a warm blanket. But again, this is not the kind of “alone” they were examining. This is ALONE!

Another thought that comes to mind is that maybe things move so fast and we have so many gizmos now, it’s difficult to be alone with our thoughts. We are out of practice.

I noticed on my calendar that I have a lot of stuff written. No where have I blocked out “time to think.”  I guess I do most of my thinking “on the go.” However, I am aware that I do a lot of thinking when I’m on that old tractor. Maybe that counts despite the fact that I have my phone.

Again, I’m not sure what the results of this study are supposed to produce. But as far as I can tell, it was not federally funded so I see that as a positive.

Think about it.

( Email: dwain.walden@gaflnews.com)