Time for me

I drive my wife mad, for the last couple of months for some reason my XC60 goes from full to red and then my wife has needed to go and fill the canister up to put £5/6 in it to save me. 
I try and tell her I was busy, as usual, and that the light had only just come on. 

Most of us know that when a light comes on in the car, the car is telling us that it need something.  Of course, the car cannot talk and therefore requires us to sort it.  I do try and have some respect for red warning lights on my dashboard, the only red light is the diesel light!

My body and mind doesn't have a dashboard thank god because it would be  lit up like a Christmas tree, but my body does tell me that it is running on empty.  Some signals are more obvious to us, Hunger pains for example, I can miss a meal and have a couple of snacks but at some point I need to eat proper food.
It is well known that I will often go without sleep, often more than a few hours aswell and I can easily make it through the day.  I know that long term I cannot survive without rest so can often be found asleep in the afternoon.
I can survive, I may be a little grumpy, on less than optimal amounts of food and sleep.
I am ok with my own company and can spend time alone just thinking, reading or gathering my own thoughts.  In this busy and hectic life this time alone is vital.

Lately, I’ve noticed just how important this need for solitude is to me.  What we all often lack is time to ourselves.

I see it with a family member they spend all day, all week, running around,  she is neglecting herself, her own needs and I think to myself it is vital that she has time, time to think, breathe, read, or just do something that helps her relax.  Ironically, I often find myself wasting time and wonder what she would do with this time. 

Rather than using the snippets of time I do have to myself to relax, I often fester, fester about what is on my mind, lately it is about how I wish she had these moments or even a long enough stretch of time to look at herself and see what we see or to be able to go to the gym or go out.

The very thing I often worry about is time, not having enough of it. But then, in a total self-defeating way, I blow the limited time I do have by stewing about things.

I know that solitude is a beautiful thing and it works wonders for me when I let it. When I neglect that need for time alone, I find myself a little cranky and distracted, just as though I had skipped breakfast.

I know I’m not the only one who forsakes solitude in an effort to keep up with the demands of life. Running on empty seems to be a modern epidemic. The solution is as simple as realizing that self time is just as real of a need as food or sleep, and we need to honor this need by allowing ourselves to relax in brief moments of solitude.

A bit of beautiful solitude rejuvenates and gives the strength needed to go back out and tackle whatever the world has in store for us.

For those who have not realized this post is dedicated to my sister.