Even when I’m alone I have real good company — dreams and imaginations and pretendings. I like to be alone now and then, just to think over things and taste them.

IM Montgomery
Anne’s House of Dreams

Writers, musicians and all types of artists can probably relate to Montgomery’s above quote.
–Alone is when my creativity prospers.
–Alone is when I spend my most creative time.  When I write, when I’m out with my camera.
–Alone is when I edit both my photography and my written word.

Image from:
PixHere

As IM Montgomery says:
Even when I’m alone I have real good company
INFPs and introverts are imagination focused.  They have a deep imagination. They love the fantastic.  Being focused on imagination, I clearly understand Montgomery and I believe she falls on the INFP/J introvert scale, just by reading the above quote.  

Like, Montgomery, I’m also seldom lonely.  As I’ve mentioned at Wisdom and Life several times over, there is a vast difference from being alone and feeling lonely.  Being an INFP as can be seen from my blog, I need down time after spending a day with people, especially extroverts.  Having time to decompress is important for the introvert/INFP personality. It’s how we survive. Even when we are out with friends and family, we can shut down.  The last thing an introvert/INFP wants to hear is:
Why are you so quiet?

Being quiet in the face of noise is how we cope.  Sometimes we are quiet because as artists, we are formulating new plotlines, new topics to write about for that weekly column, a new place to go with our cameras or paint with our canvas and easel    

Or we may just need to decompress when we can.  So if you know your friend or family member is on the introvert scale, be mindful when you ask that question.  It may create more tension. Your friend or family may shut down further or could even lash out and say something they don’t really mean.  Not all artists are introverts and not all introverts are artists, however there is a large contingent of introverts who fall into creative careers.  It’s because art is created alone and art can be a healthy release.

Writing helped me release the negative energy I had.  And because I went through so much growing up, my fiction turned dark.  As I went back through my old writings however, I also saw a shard of light shining through the darkness.  Most of my dark fiction ended on a positive note. Even though what I went through as a child, I somehow instinctively knew that life would get better.  I see that more now as I delved back into the dark fiction I wrote some thirty plus years ago. I believe this blog, Wisdom and Life is a natural outgrowth of my dark fiction years.  

As I’ve also said here countless times, I no longer feel the need to write dark fiction, because I came through that period and I now live my life in the light.  I see life as a gift. I see there is always a way out. I’ve found another way to thrive. My spirituality and my faith are the gift that helped me. I wouldn’t be where I am today were it not for that gift.  And speaking of gifts:
We all have them.  Gifts, that is.

This blog has been a gift for me and even though I take breaks from it now and then, I can’t imagine leaving it entirely.  It is completely antithetical to the fiction I wrote when I was writing fiction. That’s because I’m in a different place as I said above.  I learned that everything happens for a reason and that my faith has helped me realize that God is always there. God is the guiding force in my life now.  My faith, my spirituality is the guiding force in my life.

What about you?

Be Happy!  Be Well! Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris

Once you realize that life is eternal,
That our souls our eternal,
That we return to light and physical over and over;
We then lose all our distress
We then lose all our fear of dying.  For there truly is no end.