"So our loneliness can grow into solitude. There are days, weeks, and maybe months and years during which we are so overwhelmed by our sense of loneliness that we can hardly believe that the solitude of the heart is within our horizon. But when we have once sensed what this
solitude can mean, we will never stop searching for it. Once we have tasted this solitude a new life becomes possible, in which we can become detached from false ties and attached to God and each other in a surprisingly new way...
The movement from loneliness to solitude, therefore, is not a movement of a growing withdrawal from, but rather a movement toward a deeper engagement in the burning issues of our time. The movement from loneliness to solitude is a movement that allows us to perceive interruptions as occasions for a conversion of heart, which makes our responsibilities a vocation instead of a burden, and which creates the inner space where a compassionate solidarity with our fellow human beings becomes possible."
~Henri J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out, the Three Movements of the Spiritual Life
(italics added for emphasis)
