Solitary Sunday

"Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement." ~Alice Koller

I love the solitude of running. Being around people so much of the time, I crave solitude, quiet, peace in my daily life. Running is one way I achieve this. Today I had a glorious 2-hour solitary run on a foggy, misty, gray Sunday morning. Gray and brown squirrels skittered about the tree stumps. A lone woodpecker called mournfully from the treetops. Deer ceased their grazing and stared at me quietly as I ran past. I stumbled upon a large group - which incidentally is called a "rafter" - of about 20 turkeys pecking their way along the leaf-strewn forest.

I anticpated their being many folks out today - the New Year's Resolution people. Surprisingly, I saw no one in the two hours I was running. Heaven!! I don't know if the chilly air, the misty rain, or the Sunday morning itself was the deterrent, but I was truly grateful for the time alone in the woods.