By: Georgia Witten
To be alone can be a personal choice or of sour circumstance, but no matter the mode of transportation, both drop off at the same place. And there you are, left all alone. I won’t claim that my advice should be taken as the kama sutra of the self-help compulsion to answer this agonizing question: "how can I be alone but not lonely?"
I will maintain that I consider myself my best company. I love being alone. More often than not, in my day-to-day life, I'm found seeking solitude rather than spending time with my loved ones. It's just the way I'm wired. But although it's in my introverted nature to gravitate towards alone time, it wasn't always so unshakably comfortable. There were many times when the retreat back to my bedroom left me sinking into feelings of being friendless and forsaken. I had to get to know myself before I could feel comfortable being alone with myself
Similarly, as you might prefer to socialize with someone in a group before one-on-one, the next time you feel lonely, try bringing a buffer into the equation. Whether streaming reality television or blasting background music, it's comforting to start your journey to independence with a distraction from your thoughts. But remember, this diversion is merely a bandaid, one small step toward feeling comfortable by yourself.
The next action is to go head-on and tackle any issues in your relationship with yourself. Just as communication is essential in any relationship with a significant other, it is equally vital in your relationship with yourself. What neglected parts of yourself are you ready to care for? What's something about yourself, you know, that nobody else knows? Become so deeply grounded in yourself that whatever way the wind blows, no matter who comes and who goes, absolutely nothing could possibly disturb your inner peace.
My final advice is to bow down and surrender to the impossibly aggravating reality that to be truly alone and never lonely, you must let people misunderstand you. Accept that nobody else could ever possibly grasp the notion of who you were, who you are, and who you want to be. Embrace the amazing ethereal truth that you are the only person who can fully understand what you bring to the table. How cool is that? Only you can explore your fantasies, only you can create your vision, and only you get to live your reality.
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