As an introvert, one very important thing to me is, “Alone/personal time.
“Those who have known me longer or deeper can attest to this. Aside from speaking from an introvert’s perspective, alone time is very crucial for each and every person; that time to reflect critically on your life, actions, perceptions, beliefs, aspirations, etc.
Robin Sharma in his book, “The monk who sold his Ferrari,” talks about the Heart of the Rose and equates it to Alone Time. The heart of the rose involves performing a quiet time exercise using a fresh rose and a silent place. All one need do, is stare at the centre of the rose, its heart! Noticing its colour, texture, and design, savouring its fragrance and thinking only about the rose in front of you. This exercise should be performed a few minutes every single day. At first, one gets distracted, but with more practice each day, one can focus on the rose without the mind wandering to other matters.
This just got me thinking; how many times do I just take time in a silent place to notice the beauty of life and focus on every single area of my life, without becoming distracted? How many times do we take time out with our spouses to notice the beauty of the relationship, savouring the fragrance of love and taking time to just focus on the other person without getting distracted by phone calls and other issues of life?
Most of us live life in the fast lane and still and quiet time is something so foreign that we wonder if it actually exists. It takes discipline and intention to achieve Alone Time, both on a personal level and at relationship level. It’s only by spending a few minutes alone each day that we can know ourselves better. Let us carefully consider our actions and plan for the next steps with a better understanding of ourselves. To get a male perspective on this, check out Mitchell’s post HERE
