Apologies to those of you who are too young to know who Ms. Garbo was. 🙂 Suffice it to say, she was an old-time movie star, a cool blond with a throaty voice and a European accent. Among other things, she was famous for saying, “I want to alone.” (Although it came out as, “I vant to be alone.”)
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love people, I truly do. But I am essentially an introvert, like many writers, and occasionally I need solitude, time to think, time to pray deeply, time to doodle on one of my artist trading cards–anything to rest my ADD-plagued brain for a while. I’ve learned over the years that taking an I-vant-to-be-alone day now and then is vital to my mental health and general well-being; this is when my deeper mind gets a (too rare) opportunity to call the shots, without the constant interference of the surface mind.
I took one of these days recently, and it was a powerful experience. I received some insights into my own life and thought processes, as I do when I journal. It was delicious, this day. When I sat in my meditation chair, all four pets joined me, and we all enjoyed the peace of just being who we are, where we are, what we are. Animals are naturals at Just Being, especially cats. They don’t prowl the past or try to explore and subdue the future; they are smack dab in the middle of NOW. Of course our furry friends don’t have think about mortgage payments, political upheaval or the many other challenges (human) flesh is heir to, but we can still take a lesson from them.
In the tech community, this kind of mini-retreat is called ‘unplugging’, an undeniably good thing. We are constantly bombarded by all manner of input, from sales pitches to political rhetoric (God help us) to violence and, well, you get the idea. It is impossible for any mere mortal to absorb and assimilate so many stimuli, wouldn’t even want to, but the onslaught continues, ceaselessly, 24/7. Yeesh! At this point, I’m not even sure this blog makes sense.
Maybe I need a Greta Garbo weekend….
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.