The Value of Renewal and Quiet Space

We need quiet time to examine our lives openly and honestly... spending quiet time alone gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order.

- Susan Taylor

I found this quote today, and thought it so appropriate given our theme this month of Renewal and Planning.  What do you think?

Does spending time alone sound like a wonderful pipe dream to you?  Or are you one of those 'outrageous extroverts' who loves to be around others - preferably plenty of others?

There is a time for socialising (and yes, I guess this time of year is MORE about socialising than perhaps any other time!) and there is a time for solitude.  And I think what is most crucial is that we balance the two.

Recently I talked about being someone who lives from the inside out, and how I need to make it easy for myself to live from the outside in... the way that some others do naturally.

But there is definitely a time and place to renew - and what better time than the start of a fresh, shiny new year.  To draw inward and reassess our lives, our livelihood, our relationships, our passions and motivations.

Creating Order

The quote above talks about not only giving your mind an opportunity to renew itself, but also to create order.

I believe that creating order out of chaos definitely starts in our mind.  I have often heard it said that mess, clutter and general disorder in our surroundings are a sign of a cluttered mind.  [Oh boy, what my office must sometimes say about me!!:]

And so it makes sense to start the ordering process, the renewal of body and spirit, by starting with our minds.  From there, we can create a picture of what it is we want to create, and the physical action will be so much easier.

Finding space and time

I can just hear you now.  Yeah, that's all good - but where am I going to find the time or the opportunity to spend quiet time alone, contemplating my navel...?

I realise it's a big ask.  And may seem impossible for you.  But consider this.  By creating a window of time in the next month or so, where you have even an hour to yourself of quiet time (and preferably longer), you will reap such benefits in your every day life that you will become much better at finding those quiet times from then on. 

The easiest way to find a time when you can be quietly alone is not in the spur of the moment (although that can work - if you notice an opportunity when suddenly the house is empty except for you - grasp it with both hands!  Don't use it to put on another load of washing).

To deliberately plan a time alone and declare your space to your nearest and dearest as non-negotiable YOU time - is often the only way you'll actually get time.

Do it now

Plan to spend some time alone and quiet, with no distractions in the next month or so (most likely after the hustle and bustle of the festive season is done).  Write on your calendar in INK!

Have you done it?

Soon, we'll look at the next step in this process.  What to do once you find yourself in that quiet space alone.  Please check back and join me.