Is Solitude the Key to Self-Discovery in Your Forties

After being of age for more than twenty years, for the past five or so years, I’ve grown to appreciate being alone. If I were to introspect about my adolescent years, my Facebook profile would be more active, updated with work, selfies, and lots of doings.

Now, however, this strategy has changed. My life is silent, and peaceful in the present time. That is maybe why I no longer craved people to be around me all the time or to be connected to endless conversations. Still, I have become quite used to spending time alone.

First of all, I felt the emptiness that represents this change, but I found out that it is something more than that— rediscovery of one’s self. Frankly, I do not care about what people think about me anymore or the need to conform to certain society's set standards. There are no more concerns about others and what they think or do; I have become more self-absorbed. I opened more books, exercised more, and listened to soothing music, and even meditated because of the silence or stillness that used to become my enemy.

Without a doubt, forty was a very crucial change in the character’s life. I got to learn the value of the simple things in life… happiness in little things that one does not feel the need to scream for. This is something I have also come to appreciate, that happy is what is not the number of people you meet but the type of friends you associate with. Lastly, it’s not how much you schedule yourself throughout the day, but how much you understand yourself inside and out.

This apprehension of loneliness however this new kind does not make me afraid at all; it feels like liberation. That’s a good opportunity to think about oneself, to develop, and to discover one’s personality. Slowing down from a speedy world makes me enjoy life more than before in this life. I’ve pretty much-attained serenity in this endeavor, and there’s more in store for me on the next level.

Thank you for reading!