Solitude is Sweet!

March 24, 2020

As I write this the social and economic landscape of the world is changing at break-neck speed.  At times it feels like you're on the edge of a cliff that's slipping away right in front of you. And then you see the blue sky and consider that this is nature telling us all to slow down and do things differently.  Nature is telling us to stay safe by staying put!

For us in Britain it means going to ground ... working from home with virtually no physical contact with others outside our home. As I work from home alone and moved to a location by the sea where I don't have a big social network then this wasn't far from my norm.  In my working life, the radio as become my friend, my cats my work companions.

As my business partners are scattered around the world, virtually all of our communication is conducted by email and it's rare that I talk to anyone during my working day. I've therefore learnt to pick up the phone and have a conversation, which sometimes is a surprise to someone the other side of the world. I talk to my cats too of course!

Creating artwork day after day puts physical strain on my shoulders and right arm so I get up and move every hour.  Yoga has become an important part of my life at my local sports centre and the online class I do at home run by my ex teacher April has been a fabulous and much needed addition to my life. 

There are some wonderful advantages of working from home ... taking breaks when you want to and having the time to observe nature. I have a big tree in my garden, which attracts a small flock of goldfinches and great tits and are a delight to watch. 

Working alone also has some other less talked about upsides, which I've drawn in my Solitude is Sweet illustration. So enjoy your time alone, working from home and make it a restorative and productive period where I'm sure amazing ideas will germinate, that will ultimate generate new opportunities.

Stay put, stay safe

Julia :-)

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