Being alone means you are established firmly in the here and the now and you
become aware of what is happening in the present moment. You use your
mindfulness to become aware of every feeling, every perception you have.
You’re aware of what’s happening around you in the sangha, but you’re always
with yourself, you don’t lose yourself. That’s the Buddha’s definition of
the ideal practice of solitude: not to be caught in the past or carried away
by the future, but always to be here, body and mind united, aware of what is
happening in the present moment. That is real solitude.
– Thich Nhat Hanh from “The Heart of The Matter” (Winter 2009)