The Value of Solitude

This morning I took myself to breakfast. I love doing things by myself.

When I eat out alone, it it feels a bit like closet eating. It’s an indulgence that I’m learning to deserve.

I used to think when I saw a woman alone at a restaurant that they must be lonely. Now, I’m on a journey to learn to be like them. 

I have been practicing for a while now. I go to lunch alone a couple of times a week, and recently I went to a movie alone. I even tried sitting at a restaurant bar and having a glass of wine alone, which to be honest, felt awkward.

I intuitively have known that enjoying my own company is a way to feel more free and more joy, but I couldn’t define why until recently. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, helped me to understand why my own company feels important to me.

Curious what creativity meant to an artist that creates works of art, I read her book The Artist’s Way.

I was fascinated for several reasons. How artists create is strongly aligned with what I know about coaching people how to create a life they love. A primary principle in the book is going on an ARTIST DATE.

The ARTIST’s DATE entails going on a two hour date, alone, once a week. It can be lunch, shopping just to look and touch lovely items, walk through museums….Really it’s doing anything that is enjoyable and is out and about.

The purpose of the artist’s date is to allow a time for slowing down, space to hear new ideas and thoughts as they trickle up to the surface. It’s a time to nourish the artist with color, shapes, sounds, smells, and symbols to use in feeding new possibilities and their creative spirit.

It makes so much sense. THERE’S NO BETTER USE OF CREATIVITY THAN TO BE THE ARTIST OF OUT OWN LIVES! What a lovely and enjoyable tool to create with…….the simple act of spending intimate time with ourselves!