[One Thousand Characters a Day] Some Solitudes Are Not Lonely <1>

Editor's NoteWe are experiencing greater isolation than ever before in a world more tightly connected than ever. Drifting through social networking services (SNS) and YouTube, we spy on others' lives and endlessly feel alone and lonely. Poet Maryanne Moore said loneliness can be healed through 'solitude.' What is the difference between loneliness and solitude? How can one learn the 'art of solitude' that makes one aware of being a being who holds an infinite world within oneself and able to feel complete satisfaction alone? Some Solitudes Are Not Lonely gathers poems, essays, and short stories by world-renowned authors on the theme of solitude in one volume. The sentence introduced today is taken from the essay Walden (1854) by Henry David Thoreau (1817?1862), an American philosopher, poet, and essayist, who described in detail his two years living alone in a cabin by Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Word count: 982.

Generally, there is ample space around us. The horizon does not come right up to our noses. The dense forest and the lake are somewhat distant, but instead, there is familiar cultivated land fenced off, taken from nature and made our own. But why is it that I occupy this vast land, a few square kilometers of sparsely populated forest that people have abandoned? The nearest neighbor is about 1.6 kilometers away, and unless you climb to the top of the hill, no houses are visible around mine. The horizon, where the forest draws a line, is all mine. On one side, there is a view of railroad tracks running beside the lakeshore, and on the other, fences built along forest paths.

Yet this place is as solitary as the great plains. Though this is New England, it feels like Asia or Africa. In other words, I have my own sun, moon, and stars, my own little world. At night, no traveler passes by or knocks on my door, making me feel as if I were the first or last human on earth. However, in spring, villagers occasionally came for night fishing to catch catfish. But it seems more fish were caught in the lake of the mind using darkness as bait. Usually, they left quickly with empty baskets, leaving 'the world to the darkness and me.' Thus, the darkness of night was never disturbed by human footsteps. I think people still fear the dark quite a bit. Even though witches have all disappeared and Christianity and candles have become widespread.

But in my experience, one can find the sweetest, kindest, purest, and most invigorating friend in nature. Even those who deeply dislike people or suffer from severe depression can experience this. Those who live in nature and keep all their senses calm cannot be visited by harmful depression. To the ears of healthy and pure people, even a storm sounds like the music of the 'wind god.' Nothing can evoke vulgar sorrow in a simple and courageous person.

－Some Solitudes Are Not Lonely, edited by Zachary Seager, translated by Park Sanho, Influential, 16,500 KRW