The joy of solitude

There are many elements of living a good life, but the first and most foundational is to love yourself and enjoy spending time with yourself.

Go do things on your own so you learn to trust your mind and view it as a welcome companion. If someone declared, “Tomorrow you must spend the day alone” the hope is that you would reply, “That sounds like a good day!”

The person who is at ease within finds every other space larger and more enjoyable.

– James Clear

If someone told me I had to spend tomorrow all alone, I wouldn’t just reply. “That sounds like a good day”. I would be overjoyed and beyond excited, “F**k YEAHHH!”

I’ve always been someone who enjoys solitude.

Eating all alone at a restaurant? Not awkward. Lovely.
Traveling in a foreign country? Not lonely. Adventure.
Going on a silent retreats for weeks? Not boring. Bliss.

Even when married, I still did solo trips to come back to myself. I’ve always felt most alive, most inspired, more joyous, when traveling alone.

It might sound crazy but being with people always felt… heavy. All the more with people I care about and love, even though I would always choose to love them, be with them and care for them. But heavy because I hated letting anyone down. But in doing that, I’d let myself down. My compassion did not include myself.

So being alone is my way of including myself, of not letting myself down.

No one to worry for.
Nothing to stress about.
Nowhere else I’d rather be.

That’s the joy of solitude, for me.