“Life’s most precious moments are not all loud or uproarious. Silence and stillness has its own virtues.”
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
My days are generally filled with chaos and noise and for the last two months I have come to appreciate my weekends more and more when I have them. Some weekends I get to spend with my niece and while they may be very busy with activities, they are generally still calm.
I enjoy being calm and I've worked bloody hard through my life to get to a place where I can feel comfort in my surroundings and within myself and when that is uprooted, it shifts things within me. The last few days I haven't been feeling too well and hence not posting much on Hive. I've been spending my time trying to regroup, re-coup and looking for new opportunities.
The weekend has become a span of time where I know I can find comfort in toning down the frantic that I experience during the week and do something for myself, those around me and simply be myself, with myself. It may sound rather selfish to some, but not many people can spend time alone and feel completely at ease. They need some form of outside influence or stimulus which I simply don't. Perhaps it's because I've spent so much time in solitude that I've come to enjoy and even yearn for it when it's absent.
The activities that I enjoy are not loud, busy activities although I do occasionally enjoy going to the odd concert like I did last weekend and it was splendid; but generally being in a quiet place, spending time outdoors or browsing the local plant nursery, sitting in a park, going for a short hike, knitting, photography or writing are all things that I can do without needing anyone else to accompany me. And maybe the hermit in me has started craving it as a recourse from the frenetic energy I experience five days a week now.
So every week I find myself really looking forward to my weekend and excited at the prospect of silence, a calm atmosphere and deep rest. It is calling me and it's only Wednesday.
I've learned so many things from being around others, but I've learned even more while being alone. I consider it a strength more than a weakness and as this quote says above, stillness has its own virtues. It has taken me decades to find the strength within to weather the storms that life throws at us from time to time and hold on, steady. When there's something to look forward to, even if it's just a relaxing soak in the bath on a Saturday, it's worth it. I'm very much looking forward to Saturday, whatever it may bring.
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
All images are my own unless otherwise stated