A Day of Solitude

For a few wonderful hours today, I had solitude among the masses, as opposed to solitude in isolation. The difference between the two is enormous. For the first few years of my single mother life, I would curl up on my own and into myself. I would stay indoors, inside my own house, for days at a time, only exiting when I had to perform mother duties. I isolated myself from my family and friends. I lost myself by being by myself.

But today was different. I was by myself, but surrounded with life. Getting time to yourself is essential but how you do that is critical to your emotional well-being. It’s really important that you re-open your eyes to the world and re-engage with life. There will be many times when you simply won’t feel like it; probably most of the time. But that’s when it’s really helpful to push yourself a little and explore outside.

I wandered up to the park that I had previously failed to see was right around the corner. Sitting on a wooden bench, high above the fields below, I had the most magnificent view of the spires of Oxford as they majestically towered above the terraced houses that lined the street below. In the quietness of the sunshine, I observed life around me. Two boys whirred past on their bicycles, down the soft hills, with their feet raised above their pedals, laughing with delight. A man with a guitar serenaded a few friends. A woman, walking her dog, met a stranger as their two dogs mingled, new friendships being formed. From where I was sitting, I was isolated. But with what I saw, I was far from alone. A little part of their lives was now in mine.

If you wish to see the beauty in the world, it is there for us to see anytime. Any of us can focus on the bad, see the things we don’t wish to see. But we can equally see the beauty in everyday life. Someone else’s laugh can make us smile. Two dogs chasing each other can remind us that life is made of simple pleasures.

My quiet time in Oxford’s South Park today gave me time to think, to breathe and to reflect. Having spent the previous two weeks holed up in a tiny village in which days could pass without seeing another human being, made me re-appreciate just how much I value people in my everyday life. I don’t necessarily mean people I know; I mean the stranger on the street…or in the park. Everyday people are part of our everyday life and life revolves around us, whether we chose to be part of that revolution or not. My suggestion is step outside the next time the sun shines. You may be surprised by the good that you see and it may just make you smile.