Some Time for Ourselves

"It would do the world good if every man in it would compel himself occasionally to be absolutely alone. Most of the world's progress has come out of such loneliness."

   - Bruce Barton (1886-1967), American businessman

I found this little essay titled "The Beauty of Solitude: Spending Time Alone to Rejuvenate" over at the DailyOM website and thought it worth sharing.

For those of you whose careers are still in full sway, whose children haven't left the nest and demand big slices of your time, or whose daily responsibilities make a moment to yourself virtually impossible, I dedicate this post. Perhaps you'll find something in it that gives you pause, allows you to clear your mind, postpone your obligations, truly relax and focus on yourself for awhile:

"Time alone isn't easy to come by and reserving time for oneself feels unnatural or unimportant. But all life is a balance, and, while we enrich our outer selves with activities and hobbies, we have the tendency to ignore the quieter inner self which is the source of creativity and serenity."

How does a person go about finding time for herself? It's not always easy. I remember when I was still in the business world with a hectic travel schedule, customer and supplier meetings to attend, employee and union relationships to take care of, a constantly ringing telephone and an in-box full of correspondence that had to be answered, I sometimes felt trapped-- unable to escape the continual grind and wishing the day would hurry up and get over.

In the evenings and on weekends when I should have been relaxing and focusing on my family and myself, I didn't always capitalize on that free time, often having my mind on something that I hadn't done or that needed to be un-done back at the office. Solitude, at least for me, was in short supply.

You can get away though, and it doesn't always require that you physically transport yourself to a distant location. Said another way, you don't have to wait until you can take a vacation to find time for yourself:

"Early in the morning or late at night, when others are sleeping, are perfect times to steal a few moments alone without any interrupts to let your mind wander, to prioritize, or simply to rest and replenish. During longer periods of solitude, you may want to engage in solitary activities that bring you peace, joy, or comfort, such as writing in a journal or taking a long bath. Take advantage of unexpected solitude whenever you can. If you find yourself caught in traffic, turn off the radio, and spend a few fulfilling moments de-stressing."

I found that using the wee hours worked for me. Being a person who requires less sleep than most, I would use the quiet time between midnight and 2 AM to get my batteries recharged. Reading something enjoyable, working a crossword, writing in my journal or writing letters worked wonders for me.

When I had more time, like on a weekend, I'd go fishing. Sometimes I'd take a friend, but often I went alone. When I returned home, whether there were any bass in the live well or not, I always felt refreshed.

Taking care of our own needs can be a challenge, especially in the world we live in today. With so many other things demanding our time, it's easy to allow that aspect of our lives to go unattended. But we shouldn't. We shouldn't because there's a price to pay for that inattention. If, when we reach the end of our life the debt to ourself is great, we'll most likely regret that we didn't allot some time for self-nurturing. Regrets, as we all know, are so unnecessary, especially when we know better. And we do know better.