So the labor of swatching is accompanied by a beautify documentary by PBS about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. I learned about Susan B. Anthony in grade school through 2 paragraphs on the single page of the U.S. History book. However there was little or no mentioning of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but yet the words in her resignation speech "The Solitude of Self" is unbelievably profound and inspiring.
And yet, there is a solitude which each and every one of us has always carried with him, more inaccessible than the ice-cold mountains, more profound than the midnight sea; the solitude of self. Our inner being which we call ourself, no eye nor touch of man or angel has ever pierced. It is more hidden than the caves of the gnome; the sacred adytum of the oracle; the hidden chamber of Eleusinian mystery, for to it only omniscience is permitted to enter.
Such is individual life. Who, I ask you, can take, dare take on himself the rights, the duties, the responsibilities of another human soul?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
This is an unbelievable realization of the understanding of one self that we all strive to discover in the course of our life. Being a young woman in my twenties, the course of my short life has as much ups as downs. The tall peaks of happiness, exhileration, and excitements are also met with the deep troughs of sadness and pain. However, I've been lucky enough to retreat within myself through prayers and found my solitude self, which is how I found Stanton's words resonating impact on every individual human being. The solitude self is such a melancholy term but yet it's where each of us can find that peace. I was led to this quiet solitude self through prayers which comforted me through the deepest trough of my life. Without the discovery of my solitude self I don't think I could have survived that period of my life. It's difficult for us to find this solitude self within us considering the distractions and toils of life. Our daily lives are filled with distractions and attractions that draws our attention away from our inner self. We wake up every morning and prepare our outer self to present to the world. Our day is packed with duties, appointments, deadlines etc. and in between the chain of these busy days we fill it with distractions and reward our work with enjoyments. At the end of the day, we retire our tired bodies. We give very little attention to our solitude self. It is such a comforting place that we must retreat to and care for it just like we care for our outer self. Because at the end of everything that is relevant to us our solitude self will be there with us to the end of our days.
