The Importance Of Being Alone

Diamond Head

photo-11

The connections I have made through surfing have been amazing.  Most days, surfing is a community activity for me.  I have always surfed with friends, unless circumstances and desperation for waves forced me to go alone. The conversations, the laughs, and the stoke shared with others somehow just makes life on the sand seem a little less hard.

I am finding however, that being alone is necessary for connecting with who I am. For finding time to be still, clear my mind, and find my own voice. For finding out what I am made of.

My surf peeps and I always cheer for and encourage each other in the water. I love watching them catch waves! But, we’ve all have those times where, for whatever reason, it’s just not our day.  On these frustrating days, we struggle.  I’ve had my share of struggles. In and out of the water.

Sometimes, I need to struggle. I need to be forced to look inside and see if I have what it takes to deal with frustration. I need to be able to rely on myself and not give up. I need to be okay with floundering for a while.

Whether in the water or on the sand, in the end, there is just me. Alone. My successes depend on me. Alone. My happiness depends on me. Alone. Not on anything going on outside of me, but what’s going on inside of me. Not on what others tell me, but on what I tell myself.

[Tweet “My happiness depends on me alone. Not on anything going on outside of me.”]

This life provides us with many trials and tests. Most much greater than the struggles I face while surfing.

I have found it is important who we surround ourselves with. Having the support of loved ones is crucial. I couldn’t have faced the crises in my life without the loving arms of friends and family. But the reality is, no one can fight my battles for me. At the end of the day, it is just me and my reflection in the mirror.

[Tweet “At the end of the day, it is just me and my reflection in the mirror. Hopefully, I like what I see.”]

I love being with my friends. I am good at getting people together when too much time has passed. This connectedness fuels me. I feel empty when I haven’t shared time with my friends.

But, what I have also discovered is that I love being alone too. This allows me to be still and listen to that quiet voice inside that gets drowned out by the constant noise coming from outside myself. When I am alone and still, I am able to hear my voice above all others. I am able to hear my needs, wants, fears, joys, and thoughts. I am able to locate my true self.

Being alone is imperative. To clear my mind. To find my voice. To access who I am.

Sometimes we just need solitude. To not be connected to the external. This is extremely difficult in this age of social media, where we can connect with anyone anywhere at any time . . . or at least feel the illusion of being connected. It is easy to never feel like we are alone.

There are parts of social media I love, but sometimes we need to enjoy the quiet moments with ourselves without liking, commenting, or following; without pinning, tweeting, or favoriting. We need to be okay with missing some status updates and tweets in order to tune into ourselves and see what is in there. Because what is in there is amazing!

We are fabulous. Sometimes we allow the external to cloud who we really are. But by being alone, listening to our inner voice, and reconnecting with ourselves, we can let the fabulous shine through!

“It is only alone, truly alone that one bursts apart, springs forth.”  Maria Isabel Barreno

Salty Kisses,

Karen

About Me

About One Salty Kiss

[Tweet “By being alone, listening to our inner voice, and reconnecting with ourselves, we can let the fabulous shine through!”]

 

 

 


8 responses to “The Importance Of Being Alone”

  1. Many day, I love being alone. As a writer, I am alone! If you can live with yourself, you can shape your world. If you can’t tolerate yourself, where are you? Great post.