Finding yourself in solitude – 10 lessons for growth

Find yourself in solitude. Everyone hears this over and over again. From the fruition of youth when it is sent in “dead time” to the isolation that every individual needs to hibernate with his emotions. Even during work days, locking mind and body behind hidden doors in order to cram in a semester’s term paper or scorn a creative project. Isolation, loneliness, being alone: ​​these words carry a connotation of growth and progress. They emphasize a deeper understanding of not only one’s environment, past and future actions, but also the most significant and empowering quality: finding oneself in the present moment.

Yes, who are you, dare I ask? Where are you? And what and why are you doing, exactly? Well, to find out, I have a suggestion: say goodbye to all your worldly possessions, my friend. Leave work. Let go of your family and friends (assuming you have the freedom to carry out this responsibility). No wait. I’m sorry…I mean quit your job, take a leave of absence from school, and buy that one-way ticket to nowhere. Traveling alone is finding the answers you’ve been looking for and discovering the questions to all your unfounded thoughts. it’s your world it’s your adventure

1) Responsibility

youThese are the ten things you learn while traveling solo (with room to add) and what carries the most weight, the quality of personality that allowed you, the solo traveler, to get here in the first place, is responsibility.

To take one’s life in one’s hands and have the freedom and maturity to mold it into the shapes, forms and experiences of one’s desire is to embrace this basic knowledge. Hopefully, we all take responsibility for ourselves, and the day we do, our lives begin to change as we witness how we take responsibility for everything we do: every thought, word, action, and emotion. This acceptance of our own responsibility for the life we ​​lead gives us the power to change. We become the artists of our lives.

In the words of Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, “Why should I consider myself a chisel when I could be the artist?” Likewise, loneliness and the time it takes us to travel alone through this world, provide the space for concession to perceive ourselves as the only ones responsible for our life experiences, inheriting the chisel in our own hands.

2) Self-sufficiency

INAfter the obstacle about the massiveness of self-responsibility, a new respect and a new dimension towards life arise. Self-sufficiency is the answer. See it as the art of floating after jumping into the air and overcoming the hurdle of responsibility. It is the feeling of lightness and satisfaction. It is a joy of achievement that surpasses the worldly possessions that are left behind. “I am Leon! This is my life! Hear me roar!”

That’s how it is. A floating hurdle-jumping lion in all your fur and mane, getting ready to… shave you!

3) Independence

Welcome to independence as you wind down after the initial rush and hit the ground running. Now you’re shaved from everything but yourself. This is your newfound freedom after you have accepted responsibility, bereft of the outside world after accepting this new realm of self-sufficiency. You are living your independence. You no longer need anything but yourself for happiness. You no longer look for those external fulfillments.

From the beginning, you were already alone. Most likely, you were alone in your mother’s womb. And now you are traveling, embracing this solitude, allowing yourself and only you to make all your decisions; what to eat, where to sleep, which train to take and which bus stop to depart from. You are the captain in your very own captain’s chair. Do you want to sleep in the middle of the day, read on a bench for the rest of the afternoon, take long walks at midnight under the stars? Good. I say do it, because no one stops you except your hesitation.

4) Likes and dislikes

Now, through these various layers of his evolution of growing mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, independently, in control of his own destiny, in the world of day-to-day living, the lone traveler comes to terms with the likes and dislikes Once again, traveling alone gives the individual solitude to get out of the role-playing games of society. Absolute all expectations of you. You don’t have to listen to anyone. You don’t have to meet anyone’s needs. You don’t have schedules, appointments, meetings or deadlines with projects, jobs, exams, etc. It’s you. And through the sieve of the mind you begin to remember who you are, you remember which elements and ingredients of life you enjoyed the most and which you enjoyed the least. Then, without hesitation (you should drop this), you jump on the likes and dismiss the dislikes forever.

5) Emotions

With careful analysis of your likes and dislikes, and with continued awareness of what turns you on and off, emotions emerge. Again, I cannot stress the depth of the responsibility. It is because of this responsibility that you have taken on for your life that you are able to filter through the layers of likes and dislikes and get to your emotions. No… it’s not the emotions of your friend, your roommate or your lover, no matter how much you wish otherwise. No… those people are not here. You are alone. Yes that’s how it is. And it’s your emotions and only yours.

Emotions are a combination of mind and body that send you messages. They tell you where you are physically and emotionally. They tell you where you need to be, again, physically and mentally, to be healthy and whole. Emotions are parts of your whole, the inner psyche, and in seclusion one can better decipher the keys that sounded in the past. So the soloist can come to terms with the depth of Ralph Waldo Emerson when he said, “None of us will achieve anything great or awesome except when he hears this whisper that only he hears.”

6) Patterns and Reactions

Getting out of our daily routines and lives, whether at work, school, family or the continuous dissolution of brain cells, clarifies the vision of the traveler. Very often we live in the past or in the future. We do not stop to see and be the present moment-bear present time. In fact, it is a gift, and to let this gift slip away again and again is to lose the beauty of the day, the hour, the minute, and their seconds. They will never come again.

Patterns and our reactions to these patterns are what prevent us from living and participating in the beauty that has been given to us. By stepping out of what we know best and frolicking into the unknown, we can witness these patterns from afar and see how we react to them. Therefore, when they inevitably arise once more, with continued awareness we can avoid falling back into old habits and past ways. Each new day is our rebirth and each new breath can be as if we were taking our first breath.

7) Past Analysis

The present moment is a fine silken thread. It is a fraction of a millisecond of a nanosecond before it elapses into the past on one side and the future on the other. Being in the present is a wonderful skill, but sometimes it’s good to focus on the past.

You are diving into the Andaman Sea off the western coast of Thailand. You see a woman walking on the beach who reminds you of an old lover, an old friend, someone you’ve held a grudge against for too long. You are alone. You have that isolation to observe your thoughts. Therefore, dig into the past and analyze the components of the relationship.

These moments of past analysis allow one to heal sore spots, lick old wounds, and overcome the pain one still carries today, whether it is displayed in oneself or in others. Through this self-healing process, the lone traveler is able to reunite with another and develop a more mature relationship; a more natural and unconditionally loving one for the benefit of both parties, which includes the surrounding environment. Looking back while traveling alone gives the adventurer a trip back in time to retrieve forgotten lessons and repressed emotions.

8) Future dreams

Then we leap from the past, through the blink of the present and into the vastness of the future. Here, unrestricted possibility remains. The future is limitless. It is without borders. It is imagination free of any construction built by the past and not portrayed by the present. The future is the playground of your dreams.

During the trip, see the future as everything and nothing. It’s your blank canvas, and there’s no better time to be alone on that Thai beach, on that dizzying bus ride through the Himalayas, or on that South American train ride through the Andes to wallow in hopes, dreams, and possibilities. They’re all there, so pull out your journal and write, draw, doodle, and play with your imagination creating whatever your heart desires, no matter how selfish or selfless. Remember: “I am a lion! This is my life! Hear me roar!” All it takes in life is to ask, believe, and then receive with gratitude. It’s the Law of Attraction: Abracadabra (no nose waggles, wands, or winks, unless you want to) and it’s yours.

9) Take care of yourself

The eight steps above are not concrete. They are not rules or dictates. They are mere ideas thrown into a world of absolute possibilities and infinite variety. In essence, however, they are the steps of an evolutionary journey, which anyone can take anytime, anywhere. However, as a personal journey, it is best lived in the silence of one’s own presence, and traveling alone promotes this with ease and few other options. It teaches the pilgrim to take care of himself because only when one masters self-care can the individual move forward. Only when peace is established at home can it spread abroad and bear fruit. All things arise from within and extend outward, therefore, with careful self-study and adaptation to constantly changing requirements to cater to one’s own needs, the adventurer will be able to share in his transformation and give back. to a world of abundance.

10) How to love

The end is love itself. Love is the master. Love is our teacher. When lived with love, every thought, word, action and emotion radiates from this core of our being, that being love. Through the solo journey, and through the various evolutionary processes of the pilgrim’s own psyche, he/she travels the highway towards the heart and is splashed with an indescribable feeling of love and peace. And from the words of a late sage on the threshold of this last stage of personal growth spoken by none other than Joseph Campbell, “You are that mystery you are trying to know.”

You are the love you first sought, whether you are aware of it or not. Your personal journey, whether in this lifetime or a future one, will lead you to this center within you. Traveling alone on a solo quest is the perfect catalyst for this great journey given to man as a birthright. So go and find yourself in solitude where the inner landscapes of the personality become more audible within a world of possibilities.