Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, loss of loved ones, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .
Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think or rest without being disturbed. It may be desired for the sake of privacy.
A distinction has been made between solitude and loneliness. In this sense, these two words refer, respectively, to the joy and the pain of being alone.

Health effects

Symptoms from complete isolation, called sensory deprivation, often include anxiety, sensory illusions, or even distortions of time and perception. However, this is the case when there is no stimulation of the sensory systems at all, and not only lack of contact with people. Thus, by having other things to keep one's mind busy, this is avoided.

Still, long-term solitude is often seen as undesirable, causing loneliness or reclusion resulting from inability to establish relationships. Furthermore, it might even lead to clinical depression. However, for some people, solitude is not depressing. Still others (e.g. monks) regard long-term solitude as a means of spiritual enlightenment. Indeed, marooned people have been left in solitude for years without any report of psychological symptoms afterwards.

Enforced loneliness (solitary confinement) has been a punishment method throughout history. It is often considered a form of torture. In contrast, some psychological conditions (such as schizophrenia and schizoid personality disorder) are strongly linked to a tendency to seek solitude. In animal experiments, solitude has been shown to cause psychosis.

Emotional isolation is a state of isolation where one has a well-functioning social network but still feels emotionally separated from others.

Psychological effects

There are both positive and negative psychological effects of solitude. Much of the time, these effects and the longevity is determined by the amount of time a person spends in isolation. The positive effects can range anywhere from more freedom to increased spirituality,  while the negative effects are socially depriving and may trigger the onset of mental illness.  While positive solitude is often desired, negative solitude is often involuntary or undesired at the time it occurs.

Positive effects

There are many benefits to spending time alone. Freedom is considered to be one of the benefits of solitude; the constraints of others will not have any effect on a person who is spending time in solitude, therefore giving the person more of a scope to their actions. With increased freedom, a person’s choices are less likely to be affected by exchanges with others.
A person's creativity can be sparked when given freedom. Solitude can increase freedom and moreover, freedom from distractions has the potential to spark creativity. In 1994, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that adolescents who cannot bear to be alone often stop enhancing creative talents.
Another proven benefit to time given in solitude is the development of self. When a person spends time in solitude from others, they may experience changes to their self-concept. This can also help a person to form or discover their identity without any outside distractions. Solitude also provides time for contemplation, growth in personal spirituality, and self-examination. In these situations, loneliness can be avoided as long as the person in solitude knows that they have meaningful relations with others.

Negative effects

Too much solitude is not always considered beneficial. Many of the negative effects have been observed in prisoners. Often, prisoners spend extensive time in solitude, where their behavior may worsen. Solitude can trigger physiological responses that increase health risks. ^[
Negative effects of solitude may also depend on age. Elementary age school children who experience frequent solitude may react negatively.This is largely because, often, solitude at this age is not something chosen by the child. Solitude in elementary-age children may occur when they are unsure of how to interact socially with others so they prefer to be alone, causing shyness or social rejection.
While teenagers are more likely to feel lonely or unhappy when not around others, they are also more likely to have a more enjoyable experience with others if they have had time alone first. However, teenagers who frequently spend time alone don’t have as good a global adjustment as those who balance their time of solitude with their social time.

Other uses

Solitude does not necessarily entail feelings of loneliness, and in fact may, for those who choose it with deliberate intent, be one's sole source of genuine pleasure. For example, in religious contexts, some saints preferred silence and found immense pleasure in their perceived uniformity with God. The Buddha attained enlightenment through uses of meditation, deprived of sensory input, bodily necessities, and external desires, including social interaction. The context of solitude is attainment of pleasure from within, but this does not necessitate complete detachment from the external world. This is well demonstrated in the writings of Edward Abbey with particular regard to Desert Solitaire where solitude focused only on isolation from other people allows for a more complete connection to the external world, as in the absence of human interaction the natural world itself takes on the role of the companion. In this context, the individual seeking solitude does so not strictly for personal gain or introspection, though this is often an unavoidable outcome, but instead in an attempt to gain an understanding of the natural world as entirely removed from the human perspective as possible, a state of mind much more readily attained in the complete absence of outside human presence. In psychology, introverted individuals may require spending time away from people to recharge. Those who are simply socially apathetic might find it a pleasurable environment in which to occupy oneself with solitary tasks.

As punishment

Isolation in the form of solitary confinement is a punishment or precaution used in many countries throughout the world for prisoners accused of serious crimes, those who may be at risk in the prison population, those who may commit suicide, or those unable to participate in the prison population due to sickness or injury. Research has found that solitary confinement does not deter inmates from committing further violence in prison. 

As treatment

Psychiatric institutions may institute full or partial isolation for certain patients, particularly the violent or subversive, in order to address their particular needs and to protect the rest of the recovering population from their influence.

What Kids Say About Dating Will Make You Smile

Before all of the broken hearts, the rejections, the break ups, and the heartaches, you likely once had a very pure and innocent perception on dating. Told from the most organic source, Rink Works‘s article on kids’ ideas about love just might make your eyes water. Here are the top picked quotes from kids with the most honest outlook on dating itself.

When Kids Were Asked About Dating 

• “Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.” Lynnette, age 8
• “One way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure it’s something she likes to eat. French fries usually works for me.”  Bart, age 9
• “You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.” Allan, age 10

When Asked About Kissing

• “The rules goes like this: if you kiss someone, then you should marry her and have kids with her. It’s the right thing to do.” Howard, age 8
• “You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, ’cause she’ll want to have videos of the wedding.” Jim, age 10
• “If it’s your mother, you can kiss her anytime. But if it’s a new person, you have to ask permission.” Roger, age 6
• “I know one reason kissing was created. It makes you feel warm all over, and they didn’t always have electric heat or fireplaces or even stoves in their houses.” Gina, age 8

When Asked How They Feel When They Like Someone

• “‘Hey, Baby, I Don’t Like Girls, But I’m Willing To Forget You Are One!'” Will, age 7

When Asked About Holding Hands

• “They are just practicing for when they might have to walk down the aisle someday and do the holy matchimony thing.” John, age 9
• “They want to make sure their rings don’t fall off, because they paid good money for them.” Gavin, age 8

When Asked About Beauty

• “It isn’t always how you look. Look at me. I’m handsome like anything, and I haven’t got anybody to marry me yet.”  Brian, age 7
•  
  When Asked About Beauty
• “It isn’t always how you look. Look at me. I’m handsome like anything, and I haven’t got anybody to marry me yet.”  Brian, age 7

Lauren Morley

My Home Town, My Pride.

IGBO-UKWU

Igbo-Ukwu (Igbo: Great Igbo) is a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra in the southeastern part of the country. The town is made up of seven villages, called Obiuno, Ngo, Akukwa, Umudege, Ezihu, Ezigbo and Etiti.

Igbo-Ukwu is notable for three archaeological sites, where excavations have found bronze artifacts from a highly sophisticated bronze metal-working culture dating perhaps to the ninth or tenth century, centuries before other known bronzes of the region.

The first, called Igbo Isaiah, was uncovered in 1938 by Isaiah Anozie, a local villager, who found the bronze works while digging beside his home. Five bronze artefacts from the original excavation are now in the British Museum's collection. They include a small staff, a head of a ram, a large manilla, an intricately designed crescent-shaped vessel and a small pendant in the shape of a tribal chief's head with tattoo marks on the face.

Formal excavations by the archaeologist Thurstan Shaw in 1959 at the request of the Nigerian government, resulted in the discovery of two other sites, Igbo Richard and Igbo Jonah, containing the remains of an ancient culture. Later, these were excavated as well. Artifacts have included jewelry, ceramics, a corpse adorned in what appears to be regalia, and many assorted bronze, copper, and iron objects. Some of these contain materials that are evidence of a long-distance trading system extending to Egypt.

Radiocarbon dating placed the sites around the tenth century or earlier, which would make the Igbo-Ukwu culture the earliest-known example of bronze casting in the region. The craftsmen were working centuries before those who made the more well-known Ife bronzes. The archaeological sites in southeastern Nigeria are associated with the Nri-Igbo. The three sites include Igbo Isaiah (a shrine), Igbo Richard (a burial chamber), and Igbo Jonah (a cache).

My Home Town, My Pride.

IGBO-UKWU

Igbo-Ukwu (Igbo: Great Igbo) is a town in Anambra State in the southeastern part of the Nigeria. The town is made up of seven villages, called Obiuno, Ngo, Akukwa, Umudege, Ezihu, Ezigbo and Etiti.

Igbo-Ukwu is notable for three archaeological sites, where excavations have found bronze artifacts from a highly sophisticated bronze metal-working culture dating perhaps to the ninth or tenth century, centuries before other known bronzes of the region.

The first, called Igbo Isaiah, was uncovered in 1938 by Isaiah Anozie, a local villager, who found the bronze works while digging beside his home.

Formal excavations by the archaeologist Thurstan Shaw in 1959 at the request of the Nigerian government, resulted in the discovery of two other sites, Igbo Richard and Igbo Jonah, containing the remains of an ancient culture. Later, these were excavated as well. Artifacts have included jewelry, ceramics, a corpse adorned in what appears to be regalia, and many assorted bronze, copper, and iron objects. Some of these contain materials that are evidence of a long-distance trading system extending to Egypt.

Radiocarbon dating placed the sites around the tenth century or earlier, which would make the Igbo-Ukwu culture the earliest-known example of bronze casting in the region. The craftsmen were working centuries before those who made the more well-known Ife bronzes. The archaeological sites in southeastern Nigeria are associated with the Nri-Igbo. The three sites include Igbo Isaiah (a shrine), Igbo Richard (a burial chamber), and Igbo Jonah (a cache).

Mother and child

Mother and Child

The Colourful cloud

Paint your present, paint your future.. Make Your world colourful 

GOD'S ARTWORK.....WAIT FOR MINE!!!