[hoodat]

BENEFITS OF THE SOLITARY LIFE
After retiring from the Navy I found myself in spiritual turmoil after both the Korean and Viet Nam wars. I decided to get off by myself to get back in shape so I bought 40 acres of ridge in Oklahoma. Rocky and steep with almost no topsoil it was land few people would want.
I built a small cabin with no telephone, electricity or running water, There were also no nearby neighbors to talk to. I had only my own thoughts except for the few trips to town for my simple needs.
A few weeks later I noticed a change taking place in my thinking. It became more intuitive and less reasoning. After a few months of solitude words began forming in my brain which ultimately led to writing a book that a publisher printed. It was not a success financially but that wasn't what I wrote it for. I felt it was important that the information be recorded for those who would hear. I say I wrote the book and my name is on the cover but actually it wrote itself. I only had to put the words on paper.
I lived there for a bit over five years of spiritual healing that could not have taken place were there others around.
When you are surrounded by people your thoughts begin to conform with theirs. If you stray too far from them they are quick to tell you how "wrong" you are. Living the solitary life the thoughts come from within rather than without. You are free to follow your own path and it sometimes leads you to strange places.
Family duty forced me back into society but my thoughts are still "other" and I am aware that most people find me strange and hard to talk to. My thought patterns have never completely returned to what they were before my five years as a solitary.
I gained a great deal in those five years of solitude.