Quiet

Solitude is ultimately good for us because it allows for self-discovery. We can find out who we truly are in the stillness without the frequent need to entertain or care for others. 

Many people aren't aware how much living alone might suit them and I was one of them. Beginning in 2013 it was thrust upon me but then began to slowly appreciate the power of more time spent in reflection. As my demanding career neared an end during the pandemic, things coalesced into the life I lead now; one filled with less societal obligation and more focus on what I needed to do for myself. 

Older problem solvers like me never learned to properly look after the self and in so doing we can become rejuvenated with more freedom and possibility. It can be like being let out of a cage especially if one was taught to follow duty above all else. 

Living alone is how my lifelong dysphoria riddle was addressed via a plan which, despite its imperfection, I had been slowly and sometimes unwittingly building towards. It ultimately proved to work well enough and what remained was cleaning out those mental drawers which had been ignored or only partially opened for decades. 

We cannot plunge into our psychology without silence.