Hello Readers,
Anywhere we go, no matter what we do, we will always have ourselves with us. We cannot escape ourselves. We can hide from others, separate, divorce, emigrate, keep running and running round and round in circles, chasing our tales, endeavour to flee our shadows seeking greener pastures, but one thing is for real, we can never escape ourselves.
There are some people whose body is a prison, whose mind is a prison, even their memories are a prison because they do not know how to get away from the hurt of them. People crave sanctuary in every sense of the word as they try to run away from superficial relationships, trivia and the constant noise and distractions of everyday living. They try to escape in the hope of discovering themselves. They sometimes resort to drugs, alcohol and other substances as a way of avoiding facing reality , other people, but most importantly, themselves because most of all, they fear being alone. A lot of people involve themselves in toxic relationships because they think someone else will make their lives better. They value the opinion of others instead of valuing their own. I have known people who continually fill their lives with trash, false friends, attending events, joining every club and society they can get membership of, describing themselves as very ‘busy, busy, busy people’. But upon looking a little more closely at their lifestyle, it is not so much the company of others they seek but more a way of escaping themselves because they cannot stand to be in their own company for any great length of time. Some people are convinced that if they find themselves a romantic partner, then that will be the answer to all their woes, when really getting involved in a new relationship is often the beginning of a whole load of new problems that they had not bargained for and if they are not happy and content within their own selves, it’s just a recipe for yet another disaster. No one can make us happy because happiness is an inside job. Other people can add to our happiness, but never be the reason for it. Not only that its one hell of an almighty responsibility to put on another person expecting them to arrive with a magic fairy wand to make their lives better, especially if they have nothing much of any real interest or value to offer in return.
Knowing how to be solitary and at peace with oneself is imperative to discovering and experiencing inner peace. When we can be alone with our own company and our own thoughts, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.
One of the greatest things in the world is to know who to belong to oneself. In order to understand the rest of the world you have occasionally turn away from it and spend time enjoying quiet contemplation, mediations and reflection, which all serve to nurture and heal the soul. If a person does not love the quiet, calm and solitude of their own company, they will never realise nor experience what complete freedom means, for it is only when we are alone that we begin to learn and understand ourselves.
If you are lonely when you are alone, then you are in bad company and when you look in the mirror each morning, do you like what you see?
‘Guard your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life’ (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Until next week,
Love and Light,
Linda and the Lulas xxx
