You will often see themes of simplicity, silence, solitude and surrender interwoven in my music and life stories. Solitude makes me think of the saying about how the quality of our private life produces the quality of our public life. Solitude refreshes, renews and revives. A few memories of solitude and current practices of solitude for me are:

• Sitting all alone at the top of my favorite tree when I was ten years old
• Going on a childhood bicycle ride to a friend’s house
• Working at a canoe rental and being outdoors in the river all alone
• Driving or camping all alone in open spaces, like northern Minnesota in grad school
• Going for a run and listening to peaceful music
• Waking up early for quiet time while most of the world is still sleeping

What are your favorite memories of solitude? What are your favorite practices of solitude?