Time immemorial we have been taught to live by the adage that ‘Man is a social Animal’, ‘No Man is an island’ etc. We are always taught and conditioned to believe that we can never go on alone. We constantly need the support of others to surge ahead. While the former statement is not completely false, we must also understand the fact that solitude has its own beauty and we can tap its magical powers to unleash our latent talents.
Solitude does not necessarily translate into loneliness or isolation or any sort of self-imposed confinement. It’s a creation. It’s a zone or personal space you enter that unfurls all that lies potent yet hidden somewhere in the crevices of your being. Here is why a little dose of solitude is good for you.
- Finding Your Inner Voice: Creating solitude for yourself helps you discover your inner voice. It takes you a step closer to who you are. It helps you see the unseen. We often brush aside numerous thoughts unconsciously. Many a times, we are so engrossed in our daily routines that we fail to rekindle your creative streaks. Even if a little spark light up here and there we are too blinded to notice them.
- Ideating: Solitude is a breeding ground for ideas. It fosters creativity and innovations. It inspires us to see life beyond the charades of daily living.
Enjoy a few moments of Solitude
3. Be yourself: Stop thinking about worrying what others think and feel about what you are doing or what they are thinking about you. What others think of you and feel about you is their business and not yours. Simply bask in the glory go of your own company.
4. Enjoy the present moment: Enjoy the beauty of the present moment –don’t think about the day gone by or what you will do next. Solitude is not the time to make to-do lists but to do what we rarely do. Enjoy silence and be glad for the few moments you have all for yourself.
5. Balancing Act: As women we tend to give more than receive, do more for others than enjoying the favours bestowed upon us. As wives and mothers especially, we are simply not programmed to give selfless moments to ourselves for the fear of being tagged as selfish. Barbara de Angelis said “Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.”
Give your self a few minutes of solitude each day
6. Slay your dragons: Solitude has great power in it. It is a soul stirring experience if we treat it right. We shove a lot of our emotions and feelings under the carpet. But we all know this does not work in the long run. In a matter of time it becomes all the more difficult to handle are emotions. All we need sometimes is the time and space to review and release our emotions… in total privacy. A good cry, pillow pounding, tearing papers, punching a boxing bag to release our anger and remorse is very therapeutic. Solitude gives us the freedom and courage to gather ourselves and gather strength to move on and fight our demons.
Such is the Power of Solitude that it will guide you to find your light at the end of the tunnel.
