I’ve been alone a lot in my life, and I’ve never tired of it. – Robert B Parker, Playmates
Robert B Parker (1932-2010) was an American writer primarily known for his Spenser series of mysteries, though he wrote other things as well. Spenser novels were not great whodunnits, with every Spenser story having the same basic theme: Spenser takes a case, and has some zero clue what is going on. He dives in and starts annoying people and people try to kill him before he finally figures everything out. There was a time around the turn of the century when Parker mailed it in, with books seemingly published only to fulfill a contract. Parker’s characters, however, were so endearing you kept reading Spenser novels because it was always a treat to visit Spenser, Susan, Hawk and the gang.
I’ve been alone a lot in my life…
We should be content with time to ourselves because time alone is how we truly get to know ourselves, which is one of the elements of success. We cannot get the most out of our talents if we do not know what those talents are and if we do not know ourselves well enough to have a plan for maximizing them.
I’ve never tired of it…
Consider this: we are the only person we are going to see every day of our lives. We better like ourselves because if we don’t not too many others are going to like us, either. Only when we are comfortable with ourselves will we feel comfortable maximizing the 24 hours we have every day, instead of merely reacting to outside forces. When we make our time serve us, all things come to us.
Those who make a go of it in this life like themselves. Now, we don’t have to be hermits. It’s OK to have a spouse and a family and live somewhere other than a cave. But we must have spent enough time with ourselves to know what we are about. We must be comfortable being alone from time to time.
The Thought for the Day runs regularly. Quotes are from Gaylon’s private stock.
