Solitude. How to Avoid Boredom. Reading and the Study of Learning

May the mercy of God be with you!

You write: “I was left alone and felt bored.” That is a natural feeling. But it seems to me that after your resolutions and what was proposed to you to do in consequence of them, you might not have this feeling. If what was proposed had taken root in you even to some degree, you would in no way have felt yourself lonely, even though you were alone. You would not have felt yourself lonely, because you would have been aware that the Lord is near, near, and your guardian angel is with you—not merely in thought, but in reality. And then the feeling of loneliness, and consequently of boredom because of it, would have been out of place. But I suppose this onset of boredom was momentary for you and quickly passed.

Always, however, for the future—every time you happen to be alone—quickly rouse in yourself the conviction that the Lord is with you and your guardian angel, and hasten to make use of the minutes of solitude that have fallen to you for undistracted dwelling with the Lord and sweet conversation with Him. Solitude in this spirit is sweet. I wish you someday to taste this sweetness, so that you may desire it as a paradise on earth.

The other day, while leafing through a book, I came across the advice of a father (Count Speransky) to his daughter. Among other things, it speaks of how to avoid boredom. Here is what he advises. “Everyone,” he says, “has a circle of daily tasks which he performs like a kind of tribute. But there are many people whose obligatory tasks are simple and brief. A great deal of time remains over, which, if it is not filled with something, will inevitably lead to boredom. To avoid it, here is the surest means: arrange things so that not a single minute is idle and all your time is filled with appropriate activities—so that, when finishing one thing and becoming free, you already have the next thing ready to take up. What are these things? First, aesthetic pursuits: music, singing, painting. But these are not daily bread—they are confections. Second, some form of needlework—knitting, embroidery, and the like. Third, the best remedy against boredom is to find a taste for serious reading and the study of subjects not yet known. And it is not so much reading that drives away boredom, as it is study.”

At the time I resolved to pass along this prescription to you, just in case. And now it turns out there is a need for it. Please take note of this and arrange things accordingly. And surely you will no longer experience boredom. I know a man who is always alone—he never goes out himself, and he receives no one. People ask him: “How do you not get bored?” He answers: “I have no time. There is so much to do that from the moment I open my eyes after sleep I work and work, and I never manage to finish by the time I close them.”

I will note for your sake that by “study,” of which the father speaks to his daughter, he means the study either of entire sciences or of some parts of them that have been only partially covered. This evidently rules out all idle reading of empty books. It seems you are not fond of that anyway. Good. Do not depart from this habit. Read mostly spiritual books. This is the realm of the most serious subjects, and most importantly, of the most necessary ones. In this realm everything is new and never grows old. The more you come to know, the more you will see subjects not yet known. And the desire to know these subjects, and the aptitude for knowing them, comes only when one has in deed entered upon the path of the spiritual life. From the moment you resolved to please the Lord, I count you as not a stranger to this path. Please read books about it, too—and grow in wisdom. The Lord bless you!