“In Solitude, the mind gains strength and learns to lean upon itself” — Laurence Sterne

As one gets older, after the exuberance of youth has passed you by, when you are in the next innings in this game of life, it helps to sometimes sit back and look at things and review what you have achieved and your aspirations and dreams.

Sitting here on a rock in the sun on a very secluded Catterline pebble beach on the Scottish north east coast watching the North Sea tide coming in eagerly bringing with it strips of torn seaweed, little yachts bobbing in the waves, life seems so simple, free of worries and tribulations of daily chores.

Now that my innings as a mother with young kids at home has finished, I’m now in a new phase where my kids are grown, independent and my best friends. It is so gratifying to see how mature and intelligent my two have turned out to be. I’m grateful for getting the chance to mold these two amazing individuals who have achieved so much through hard work and determination.

Spending nearly two decades in a rewarding but increasingly stressful job, I knew I enjoyed working with people, helping those who needed support, learning new skills and getting new qualifications. But the stress of working in a corporate world was getting increasingly unbearable and it was time to give up. It was time to relax and enjoy the fruits of my labour. Initially took awhile to get used to so much time on my hands but then it was liberating when I realised that I can do all the things I always wanted to do before but never had the energy to do it. Reading, writing, travelling, photography, and most of all, spend quality time with my two. Also just relaxing without any stress of the job, targets, chatting for hours with my sister.

Now that a year has passed, I understand the need for solitude in one’s life. The need to reflect on one’s achievements, goals in life, strengths and failures, how to improve my mental and physical health. Solitude should never be mistaken for loneliness. It is the need to be one with yourself, it frees the mind of distractions of work and everyday life to concentrate fully on one thing, focus outside the box so to say… Now I understand the drive for those looking for enlightenment to want to go far away from civilisation to concentrate oneself. No, I don’t plan to do that, I love my life a lot just the way it is!