Embracing Solitude Instead of Being Lonely

Downtime can feel a bit foreign. I think I’ve gotten so used to that feeling of having somewhere to be, that last night, when I found myself on the couch at 7pm with no plans, I felt a bit lonely. It was a Saturday after all.

Then, I remembered that all I needed in this situation was a perspective shift. Instead of feeling lonely, I could instead decide to embrace solitude and treat this moment as a gift. Working in the alcohol industry, it’s not often that I don’t have somewhere to be on a Saturday night and so even though it’s happened quite a few times this year, I should relish in every single night like this. I reminded myself that somewhere, there’s an overworked parent that just wishes that they could have a minute for themselves.

With this new perspective in mind, I sat for a moment and thought about how I would most like to spend the evening. I settled on picking up some banana pudding from Whole Foods (very random, I know) and reading a new book on my couch while listening to some jazz. An hour later, the scene was set in my living room and I had an incredibly satisfying evening.

It doesn’t always feel like it, but how you feel really is a decision. You’re always in control of the outcome of a situation and sometimes it’s as simple as using different words. Solitude feels amazing, loneliness not so much.