On solitude, Wild and Insurgent

I'm reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed at the moment and loving it. I watched the movie first and was awed by how amazing it was and even though I know what's coming, reading the book is still so inspirational.

If you haven't heard about it the book is about Cheryl who loses her mother, the love of her life, when she is 23 years old and self destructs. Realising she needs to find a way to come back to who she is, she sets off on a three month hike on the Pacific Coast Trail. It's a book about an amazing woman, a remarkable journey and it speaks about the lives of all women.

There is a scene when a reporter for the Hobo News stops to interview her because he hasn't met many female hobo's and Cheryl says "that's because women can't just walk out of their lives," and that's the truth.

I'm loving the book for so many reasons, but one of them is the fact that Cheryl embraces solitude as it is in the quiet that she is really able to confront her reality and her past. And it makes me think about the role of solitude in order to be creative and to discover who we are.

As a young woman I was afraid of being alone. I couldn't go anywhere by myself and I remember watching lone women eating in restaurants or going to the movies and being moved to pity for them. Post-child and working full time I've done a full circle and I can't wait to be myself. I crave solitude and the opportunity to dream, to be inspired and to create.

Albert Einstein said "Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when is more mature," and that's where I'm at.

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I love having the opportunity to go the movies and dinner by myself and not have to compromise, be able to read a book in peace as I wait for my meal or the movie session and just be in the moment.

I did this last Thursday night and went to see Insurgent, which I absolutely loved. I saw the movie Divergent first, read the series and have been waiting with bated breath for this movie to come out. The visual effects were stunning and the continuation of the story engrossing. Now I'm waiting for Allegient the movie. Only 12 months at least to go. Sigh.

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