All By Myself, Yourself
One of the fears I had when I found out we were moving so far from the people I knew and loved was the fear of being alone, the fear of loneliness. I don’t do isolation well, and it makes me feel very vulnerable. While I deeply enjoy and crave, require even, having time to myself, long term aloneness becomes a scary place for me. When I am alone for too long, and have run out of ways to entertain myself I get bored and my thoughts drift to the places that I bury deep inside of me where no one can find them, including myself.
I knew that moving to a place where I literally knew no one would require me to spend a lot of time alone. I’d be responsible for keeping myself entertained and motivated. To avoid loneliness, I would have to get good at being alone. Knowing myself as well as I do, I knew that I would medicate my loneliness with staying busy and overwhelming myself with tasks. It would take a lot of conscious effort to be still and quiet.
I found this video this morning on a blog I read from time to time. It was exactly what I needed, at exactly the time I needed it. This short video is all about being alone, and it’s beautiful.
How do you do alone? Are you comfortable with solitude or are you afraid of what you might find inside yourself? How do you spend time with yourself?
*When I saw the date this video was published on the internet I smiled. It was published right before we loaded up the truck to leave Virginia.
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i love being alone.
I’m learning to (trying to at least) love being alone. I admire people who can spend forever by themselves.
I think I may like alone time a little *too* much sometimes. I definitely have some hermit tendencies!
I get hermit like in the winter. It’s not because I don’t want to see people; it’s just too darn cold to leave the house. In the winter, I like for people to come to me so I can stay snuggly warm inside.
When could I ever be really alone? My mom says I did it on purpose. Maybe. But I kindof like alone time now.
Marie you a social person for sure. Even when you are “alone” you seek out people to visit or help.
I am a bit of a recluse and it’s by choice. How does one explain to extroverts and social butterflies we introverts like and NEED to be alone more than they do? A little human contact goes a long way with us. Renee, the best way to enjoy your alone time is to discover a hobby. When you find one you love you’ll wish you had more time alone to indulge in it!
I enjoy writing and reading and I’ve started going to yoga classes, but I can only handle them for so long before I start to lose focus and wander. I’m a bit of a binge hobbiest. I need to work on long term slow and steady hobby enjoyment.
That’s so weird because I found that video yesterday! I don’t do alone well either, I like it for the first half of the day and then I get bored, and like you said, think things that do not need to be meddled with. For me a check list is a big help. I make a list every morning of things to do. Some of them are chores and the like, but some are fun things too. There is nothing wrong with “working” on your hobbies and improving yourself.
Crazy! I really love a day by myself or a few hours of personal time, but when we get into long stretches that’s when I get into trouble. Making a list is a great idea. I go through phases of when I make lists and when I don’t. I’ll have to try a phase of list making.
I say I have long term ADD. I will be really crazy about something for a month or so and then I move on. Currently I am working on going to BodyFlow ( a combination of Thai Chi, pilates, and yoga) and an addiction recovery program for being codependent…I told you I created a group of people because I can’t seem to do anything by myself and I don’t want anyone else to either
I live in the ATL area, Lawrenceville, if you need anything…just hit me UP!
UP
Well Howdy Neighbor!