Isolation
Isolation is just an artist’s way of making everything around them quiet. My first few years in college were spent as a hermit. Being forced to be a socialite would crack this shell, over time, but it was one which even after seeing shattered pieces of it scattered across the ground, retreating to my quiet place periodically would be my way of reassembling them. Introvertedness is an artist's home. Some of us just enjoy the company of our own voice, and thoughts, a little more than others.
Isolation prevents artists from attempting to mimic and helps them birth stories from their own lives. When isolated, the only story you have to tell is that of who you see when you look in the mirror. Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN” in 2017 was a series of self-musings that concluded with his own story. “LUST,” “LOVE,” and “PRIDE” could only be crafted when by an artist who has meditated on their own reflection. How often do you study yourself?
Isolation was where I learned life’s most silent lessons. Those I had to master alone, in the stillness of my room, or a world apart from the noise. Stories will come when your mind is busy, and even if your body is still you can learn a lot from being quiet. Some of the smartest people usually said very little. But this is about isolation, not intellect.
The wisest figures that history has known made peace with isolation. Jesus would isolate himself before returning to his friends and the people around him with parables carrying messages from God and clues of the Kingdom he spoke about. American philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, wrote a book in 1854, “Walden,” about his experience of living in a one-room cabin. He can be quoted affirming, “We must first succeed alone.” In solitude, I win my battles. Those we win when no one else is watching are what count the most. The battles only God witnesses take place with some of the more vintage and somber hip-hop records as the ambient noise for emotional wars. My best stories were written when I was alone, and they were usually about me.
One day we’ll be able to yield to the sound of God’s voice as swiftly as the wind that blows in whatever direction He commands, and the waves and leaves that are subject to its breeze. In this pattern of life and natural laws, it’s always the wind that listened, first. Ineluctably, everything else will follow. If the sun, clouds, wind, and moon all woke up one day and decided to ignore the whispers of God, the earth would be deprived of what makes it a home for His people.
Very often I consider artists who retreat for months and even years before returning with new art, ideas, and expressions to give to the world. Beyonce and a six-year hiatus before the release of “RENAISSANCE.” Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” was such a highly anticipated moment because it was foreshadowed by his isolation. He gave hip-hop as little as he believed he should have while he crafted new ideas he’d use to paint his portraits. In this case, even if he wasn’t alone, he went somewhere quiet. Where can you be most quiet?
Kendrick retreated into a world of self-discovery and healing. And he fled the culture which was dominated by voices, numbers, record labels, and gold plaques. Seclusion, by this nature, was immersing himself in worlds he might’ve spent too much time away from. But I’m sure God would meet him in those places. God might be asking you to meet Him somewhere; by the river, or the spot you both would commune, so He can share with you what’s next. We should stop leaving God to sit by Himself. In Kendrick’s “Worldwide Steppers” through a deadpan voice, he declares as a man who was possessed, “writer’s block for 2 years, nothing moved me. Asked God to speak through me. That’s what you’re hearing now, the voice of yours truly.”
There’s a distinguishable difference between God isolating us, and the ways by which we choose to isolate ourselves. One is rooted in our need to listen to what’s being said, the other is inspired by a desire to not want to hear from anyone, at all. Removing ourselves from the range or frequencies of other voices is needed at times. But isolation from God is meant to carry us closer to the right voice, or voices. Isolation is God making the world smaller, for you. When embraced, it can go from being a place we believe we’ve been sent in exile, to our Zion. One which we believe weakens our spiritual senses in the same way krypton doesn’t possess the atmosphere to enable those of Clark Kent, but the earth would hone his hearing and make everything around him subject to his strength. Most of us are stronger when we’re quiet.
In seclusion, my ideas, words, and thoughts all are free to escape me. My stories are more vivid and original. Isolation is where God’s voice will always thrive, uninterrupted. The one who has isolated is usually the one who knows every elemental feature of God’s voice. My humility goes before me in isolation. My spirit is free in isolation. God’s voice reigns here. It was when I retreated that I was finally able to shut up so I can listen to myself think.
Told by: Kwon
