Everywhere I have sought peace…

In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro. – Thomas a Kempis

Everywhere I have sought peace and not found it, except in a corner with a book.

Each of us needs to put ourselves, physically, in the position to do that kind of deep work. We need to give our bodies, as Virginia Woolf put it, a room of our own—even if only for a few stolen hours—where we can think and have quiet and solitude. (…) It’s hard to make that time. It’s hard (and expensive) to get away. We have responsibilities. But they will be better for our temporary disappearance. We will carry back with us the stillness from our solitude in the form of patience, understanding, gratitude, and insight. – Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (p. 218)