?Just Leave Me Alone!? How many times have we heard both children and adults voice frustration and state, ?just leave me alone?? Is this a plea to be left alone or could it be a need for solitude? Solitude apparently can help heal, relax body and mind, and allow for inward searching in a socially-acceptable manner of escape from trials and tribulations. Such solitude is synonymous with tranquility. In pronouncing The Perfectibility of Man, Benjamin Franklin lists tranquility as one of 13 principles by which man may achieve moral perfection. He stated, ?the perfectibility of man, dear God! When every man as long as he remains alive is in himself a multitude of conflicting men.? And insofar as tranquility, Franklin clearly practiced his belief, saying, ?be not disturbed by trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable?. He liked to swim, fish and court in company with his friends, he preferred solitude for his intellectual work and quiet reflection.
English: Henry David Thoreau, photograph taken in ...
English: Portrait by Benjamin D. Maxham (daguerreo...
English: crayon portrait of Henry David Thoreau as...This desire for tranquility was imperious and stayed with him until the end of his life.
Jeffrey Kottler stated, ?There is convincing evidence that the search for tranquility is not a luxury but a biological need. Just as humans possess a herding instinct that keeps us close to others most of the time, we also have a conflicting drive to seek out tranquility. If the distance between ourselves and others becomes too great, we experience isolation and alienation, yet if the proximity to others becomes too close, we feel smothered and trapped.? This quote is a prime example of how tranquility helps heal. Humans need tranquility when they are trying to heal. One would not want mad confusion if they were trying to mend something in their life, one would want calmness.
?It has been shown when the mind is still it is clear and more open?. The physiological impact of relaxation mat be the result of its effects on cortical, a hormone released by the body in response to stress. By relaxing one?s body and mind, they can relieve their stress. Given that stress can cause permanent damage to health at all levels, relaxing will keep someone from damaging their health.
Henry David Thoreau wrote ?I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude?. ?Tranquility is essential for man. All men come into this world alone and leave it alone.? Both of these quotes demonstrate how one allows inward searching in a socially-acceptable manner of escape from trials and tribulations. This is a key example of tranquility.
In Ben Franklin?s Thirteen Virtues he speaks these words about tranquility, ?Be not disturbed at trifles or accidents common or unavoidable.? One can decipher his meaning in many different ways. Tranquility is possibly one of the most important virtues, however no one will ever know which virtue was most important to Benjamin Franklin. Therefore, for many years to come people will just have to interpret what he wrote in their own way. Whether it be deciding what people mean when they say ?just leave me alone? or something different, one will never truly know.
Quote from Henry David Thoreau on Library Way in N...
Original title page of Walden featuring a picture ...
A photo of a bust of Henry David Thoreau from the ...