How to Be Alone

I found the movie short I'd mentioned before! How to Be Alone was created by animator/director Andrea Dorfman and writer/composer/perfomer Tanya Davis to celebrate how lovely solitude can be.

I'm fairly comfortable being alone. In fact, I might seek it a bit too often and often wind up feeling...lonely.

Growing up, when things got rough at home I'd retreat into myself. I'd tell myself that when it became confusing and scary out there, I'd always find comfort within. Even though I had friends and sibs, I learned to enjoy my own company and found it easy to get completely lost in my own imagination - one that was then transferred onto the pages of my journals.

Since then I've learned that movies, dinner and traveling alone are not as terrifying as some believe. How silly it'd be to be scared of my awesome company - or scared of any curious onlookers! When I'm with me, I don't have to try to be engaging, intelligent, cool or witty. I don't have to be anything other than what I feel comfortable being at that time. I can let my guard down. I can be vulnerable, silly, curious - me.

I've picked myself apart and pieced me back together. I've let my mind wander off into random tangents and discovered new facets of myself I never knew existed.

In solitude, you can be unapologetic and selfish. No need for excuses if you daze during a convo. You can daydream as you wish, ask questions, lose yourself, become more you, nurse your wounds and find strength for the next steps to follow.

It's in these quiet moments, that your essence takes those precious breaths that sustain you.

Image: viff.org