Could you spend two months with just — yourself in a deep woods cabin? No texts. No computer. No TV. Adequate food, water and heat to sustain you. Supplies sent to you by request. Books yes. Current events news no. Two phone calls twice a month with 15-minute time limits.

No, you don’t get money or prizes at the end of the two months. You come out with the same thing you went in with — yourself.

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau went into the woods near Walden Pond in Massachusetts where he built and lived in a one-room cabin. He stayed at Walden for two full years.

He wrote, “I went to the woods … to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

While at Walden, Thoreau took an inner voyage to this soul and found that when he had returned to society, he understood himself so much better. He claimed that living in silent solitude had gotten him to think more deeply and to move less physically. He was never tired. He took a nap in the afternoon and slept five hours at night. He ate fish he caught and vegetables he grew with some food bought from a supply store.

Now back to my question. I would gladly accept the opportunity to be in solitude for two months, but since this premise is impractical for so many reasons, instead I make time during my daily schedule to have time alone. Walking or fishing by myself is great in warmer weather or in colder weather, I stay inside with all electronics turned off and sit in uninterrupted solitude.

Thoreau contended that the path to joy is one of knowing who you are and living it. It requires befriending yourself. He also believed that good health and life itself are very temporary, so there is an urgency to quiet the mind and reduce distractions so that one can live with a peaceful purpose.

I have found that frequent solitude does not cause loneliness, unless you might think that being with yourself is boring and depressing, and if that is true, then I would think other issues have to be addressed.

I have learned that time with self opens the mind to reflection and evaluation. I feel I can appreciate much more about my life when I have quiet time to put everything into perspective. During these moments, I feel especially grateful for my family and friends. Spending time alone also gives me the opportunity to evaluate my priorities and change their order of importance to what suits me best.

I have discovered that the simple act of walking down a dirt path in the middle of the woods can inspire so much positive thinking. Thoreau wrote, “A single footprint will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

I have wondered how so many people can go through day after day of miserable exhaustion, trapped by the demands of the job and the responsibility to the family, and they stay this course for 30 years. Thoreau wrote, “Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

There are obvious answers to why so many remain stuck in the mud. One is there is no time left in the day for solitary contemplation. And then there are some who are afraid to be in solitude because they are unwilling to confront the reality of their unhappiness.

Yet spending time alone to think can bring about positive change. One might decide to work less and be with family more. Eat better. Exercise the body. Listen to relaxing music.

Sometimes we get tired of the maddening crowds or the rush hours to everywhere and we cherish that moment to lock the door and shut out the world. British philosopher, Alan Watts said, “I owe my solitude to other people.”

I recall someone had said to me, “You can’t listen to the voice in your soul if the TV is always on.” He went on to add that we tend to fear silence and solitude like we fear the dark. There are monsters out there wanting to scare us back into our real selves. We avoid the face in the mirror by surrounding ourselves in the comfort of other people even if they ignore us. We also occupy too much time staring at electronic screens full of meaningless babble.

In this new year that begins a new decade, perhaps it be wise to exchange the usual resolutions that are too hard to keep anyway. Try a simpler pledge to gift yourself with a few quiet moments each day. Listen to your soul tell your truth about how you can find your joy.

Happy solitude everyone!

Rich Strack can be reached at katehep11@gmail.com.