The kids were gone and Joe was on a business trip. Home alone, for the first time in ages, I had the pleasure of experiencing the difference between alone time and lonely time. Lonely is a state of mind versus being unto oneself. It’s easy to feel completely isolated in a full house, where everyone is operating in different orbits under the same roof. Instead I joyfully embraced being alone, without being distracted by the unspoken needs or wants of others.

Simple pleasures included turning off the television and eating like a goat. Goats browse on things that grow in the ground. They eat on the go, kind of like bringing your food with you versus sitting down at the same table for every meal.

In truth, I had no interest in cooking anything that once had a pulse. Favorite dinner of the week…NO KIDDING… a bottle of Kombucha (hippie juice) with an avocado, followed by an entire Green & Black’s ginger chocolate bar accompanied by a few random strawberries left to wither in a forgotten container. Losing a few pounds was never so easy or enjoyable. Yes, you can shed pounds eating chocolate.

For me, being alone felt down right selfish. I didn’t worry about littering the bed with books and papers, hogging the shower, taking up multiple spaces in the driveway, picking up after myself,  or considering if there was food fit for carnivores in the refrigerator.

Home alone is not the same as lonely at home. Home alone can be liberating and forces one to look within. If you take a deep breath and enjoy the solitude, your “happy place” will have a funny way of resurfacing. Over time it’s easy to become “instinct injured,” forgetting what you really want.

In between loving everyone else, take some time to love yourself, and grab a chocolate bar for dinner, preferably an organic one. Fair Trade certified is even better.

Julie