“There is so much power in the quiet. In allowing yourself to build & blossom without any additional energy swaying you one way or another, without any other light taking your attention & making you turn away from where you need to stay focused. There is so much power in what you do not say, in what you choose to keep your own.” –Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
Here’s the thing, I love solitude: being alone when writing on my journal & planning my day; swimming by myself – focusing on my breathing & feeling the water as I move with it; waking up to take a walk so early in the morning that everyone is still asleep; reading a book before hun wakes up & prep our breakfast; pausing to observe the cats with their kittens while they roam around the streets; hearing the maintenance staff as they sweep outside our house; driving alone to run some errands or visit someone or go somewhere; listening to classical music as I take long warm showers; writing articles here in our home office or in a coffee shop; studying & completing my daily tasks; prepping & cooking something I like; listening as the rain gently envelops our roof, having a glimpse of lightning as it brightens up the night sky & hearing the thunder as it roars & echoes gloriously; personally cleaning, decluttering & organizing every corner of my house to keep it airy & breathable; making coffee or tea before I work.
I love these small pockets of time that allow me to be, to observe, to feel, to truly listen & reconnect with my environment & with myself, to be grateful & appreciate every little detail that encompasses who I am. Being present in these moments allow me to gain clarity. These tiny details might seem mundane to other people but are things that I value & live for. To me, being alone is not scary, it’s something I love for it’s how I remain inspired to create & imagine. When my personal space is affected or dampened by too much energy surrounding me, I tend to ignore my needs & put others before me simply because I can’t hear my inner voice anymore.
As someone who grew up in a household with my parents, a number of siblings, cousins, and aunts – I didn’t have the luxury of having quiet time & privacy when I was a kid which honestly, as an introvert, made me miserable & exhausted most of the time. There was too much variation of energy, mood & emotions to consider so balance was definitely a challenge to achieve.
“I hope you learn to live in a way that makes you glad to be alive. Not glad for your elevator speech, your accolades, or what you believe the world sees you as. Not where you are glad for all that you might do one day, but the beauty with which you experience the smallest and most unassuming of things. I hope you learn to live in a way that makes you excited for the day ahead, for whatever it is you are meant to do with this period of time, with this corner of the world, with this one body & life that is yours. I hope you learn to experience living, instead of just imagining how your life is seen. I hope you learn to feel it, with everything inside you. I hope you learn to be alive.”
–Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
There’s so much curiosity & magic in being alone that others tend to ignore, it seems that they feel like they need to put on so much noise & distractions in their lives, like they need to put on a show. They keep themselves busy with anything & everything, they keep their schedules full without making time to pause & just be. But being busy or having a noisy life does not mean you’re being productive, sometimes you’re designing your life this way so you could keep running around in circles, so you could escape from something.
It is when the whole world is quiet, when you are alone – this is when you allow yourself to feel everything, it’s how you process & develop ideas, how you gain self-awareness & adjust your perspective, it’s in these pauses that you get to use your imagination which then allow you to create something you find truly worthwhile, it’s in your thoughts that you first express the growth you desire for yourself.
Coffee soon,
Anne