Alone again, naturally

lsproule@thereview.ca
Let’s be honest. There are some days, by 4 p.m., when the only words I hear in my head are: Leave me alone! Those are the days I’ve had enough and it is in this edgy state of mind that I do my grand 60-second commute home around the corner to a partner expecting a pleasant evening in my company.
If only I could find a nice way to say I need a few minutes to recover my sociable self. I am working on just that . . . because I do need more time alone.
When I read a Tribune News article last week extolling the virtues of “alone time”, I felt somewhat vindicated. Of course, I knew all along that one cannot have people buzzing around all the time.
A good friend and I agree that we have the perfect “alone together environment”: one evening each week, when our partners are at the same meeting together, we stay home alone, turn up our favourite music and do whatever the heck we want. We are each alone and send the occasional message to say what we are up to and it’s not strange at at all: we each enjoy an evening of personal space but share it, only just enough. And we like it this way.
Sometimes, I do wonder if my yearning for time alone is unsociable and out of balance somehow . . . an ingrained leftover from my days as an only child happy to be alone, playing alone and thinking my own uninterrupted thoughts.
But it seems that we can all get maxed out when it comes to people. And it should be no surprise that constant company can make us feel drained and used up.
According to the experts, spending time alone gives us time to purge negative energy dumped on us. And if you have lots of close relationships, you are more likely to have emotional overload in general.
Being alone gives us the space to solve personal problems. It’s hard to go over plans to change anything if your brain is never at rest.
Time alone helps you gain perspective on things. If you are peeved about something, maybe you need time to think about it and dispel personal tension.
Personal time can be when you set new goals for yourself, explore inspirational ideas and consider new directions.
I know that the ideas for this column often stem from what is happening all around me, but it is usually when I am inside my own personal space that the idea becomes a thread I can sew into something substantial.
This past week, I also read that the tide is turning on the notion of work groups and study groups. Many workplaces have “pods” of employees who are working alongside each other. Open office concepts rule in many workplaces and in fact, that is the case here at The Review. While there are certain efficiencies to be gained from this, there can be a loss of creativity, according to experts.
Picture yourself surrounded by people and your inside thought is, “I can’t think!”
All too true.
It is my favorite thing to wake up early and let the day sort of float up ahead somewhere. There are no cars driving by, the world is still sleeping and my thoughts have free roam.
Because there are messages, chatter, texts, voicemail and communication devices everywhere, it is perhaps more important than ever to find the  stillness within.
Yes, I’m always here but just give me a minute.
I’ll come out to play again soon.