My Introverted Self

I love people—I really do. I enjoy the time I spend with people if it is meaningful. I am totally okay sharing that I am not great at small talk. I never quite got the less than interesting questions that most social hours bring up, and I also spent years living in shame that I did not go to college, I was divorced and living paycheck to paycheck for years, I was the mom of an awkward and very challenging girl with multiple disabilities, and back then I had not yet found my purpose. In general, I think I love people but I get easily drained by meaningless blather.

While I enjoy people, I also love taking care of my introverted self and my favorite way to do that is to go into the forest. To commune with the trees and be totally at peace and in oneness by the sights and sounds. I know that my time alone is vital for my overall well-being and how I show up and give back to the world.

Last week I took off on a solo hike to fill my soul with what she needed. I visited one of my favorite tree friends I have ever known. She has been a friend for many years and though I haven’t gone to say hello in a long time, she still greeted me with the same wonderful welcome. I played on the icy trails and I basked in the warm sun. I crossed over four miles of sweet Mother Earth and it was just what I needed to refuel and get clarity on a few things weighing on me.

I love how the sound of my feet crunching the earth somehow brings the answers I have been seeking. It’s like the world stops for a moment and I can listen.

I was reminded again just how blessed I am and how grateful I am. My life allows me to take off for a few hours and feed my spirit, plan things for the future, and mostly soak into the now.

Of course putting my hands on my favorite tree friend never hurts. She was just how I remembered–full of energy and an aliveness that blesses anyone who stops to receive.

How do you balance your life of people and alone time?