Syndicated Columns

Seek to experience solitude, not loneliness

Posted September 16, 2006

Q. How am I to live alone and not be lonely? -- B.M., Boca Raton

A. Whatever you are experiencing, it can be perceived as an occasion for something new to emerge.

Loneliness is not the same as being alone. Everyone has times when they are alone for particular reasons, or because they have chosen to be alone.

Being alone can be experienced as positive, pleasurable and emotionally refreshing if it is under the individual's control.

It is incumbent upon each of us to turn our adversities into opportunities, to go beyond limiting thoughts and to embrace the gift of grace that comes with establishing a deep connection within ourselves and our deity.

Think about what will be pleasurable for you to experience when alone. It may be a walk, music, nature, art, photography, gardening, swimming or any number of personally rewarding alone-time adventures. Seek to experience solitude; a state of being alone made by conscious choice.

Anne Shannon Monroe reminds us: "Loneliness is but cutting adrift our moorings and going out to sea; an opportunity for finding ourselves, our real selves, what we are about, where we are heading during our little time on this beautiful earth."

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