Get comfortable with being alone, it will empower you – Jonathan Tropper
Alone, not lonely. Similar words, but most definitely different worlds apart. Life is a journey full of ebbs and flows. Most of us at some point in our lives will experience loneliness.
It comes in many complex layers such as, for example situational, social isolation or emotional. From experiences such as a new job, staying in a hotel by yourself, to needing help to complete a task to more intense moments such as undergoing surgery and being away from family, to feeling lonely in a crowded room.
During the COVID pandemic I’m not ashamed to say I found the first lockdown extremely hard, and I did experience loneliness, I’m sure many of you can resonate with this. Maybe it was seeing images of the whole world shutting down, the uncertainty, the lack of human connection and interaction, or seeing the isolation for the patients. Maybe it was just fear.
I feel I have had a blessed life and I am grateful for this. The rollercoaster we all travel on brings challenges for every one of us along the way.
I have felt lonely before in my life, fleeting moments that I overcame. Nine throat surgeries and four rounds of IVF procedures, emergency c-section… are prime moments. I know I have more ENT surgeries to come in my life.
Anyone who has had to go through any medical journey or procedure will perhaps understand. Being put under anaesthetic feels lonely for me.
Of course, there are endless events that can happen within our lives which may cause us to experience this awful feeling.
All these life events make us who we are. I am grateful for every day, for life, for my health as it is. Understanding why loneliness was such a strong emotion for me during lockdown is a process. The healing powers of yoga enable me to ‘sit with myself’, to face any fears I may have and realise I can let them go.
I find I am never more vulnerable than when in meditation. Sitting with and facing emotions can be overwhelming or blissful. Despite this, it always feels beneficial to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
It can beautifully connect me into a contentment of being with myself, as it always brings me back to my breath, my heart, my home, and in times when I face adversity there really is ‘no place like home’.
By gifting myself time for aloneness I find it beautifully heightens my awareness of the interconnectivity between everything, it is then impossible to feel lonely for too long as I am connected to every living thing. Through quietening my mind using my breath to become present I can feel this energy, as I am awakened to the ‘self’ and my place in this universe, which feels incredibly comforting.
I truly underestimated the profound positivity a regular meditation practice would bring into my life. I often practice a guided meditation with a specific intention, I like @mysoulsanctuary or Cat Meffan on YouTube. These are a good place to start if you’ve never meditated before.
Now I do my own visualisation meditations and with practice it feels like a place I can always go to and instantly feel secure, calm, and nourished.
Learning to be comfortable sitting alone with yourself takes time, dedication, and a willingness to surrender to your emotions, if you can try do this, meditation can be a beautifully, fulfilling journey of self-discovery like no other.
It empowers you with a strength to be content when you’re alone, an ease to appreciating all that surrounds you.
As you gently peel back the layers to find what you knew was there all along, that everything you need, is already inside of you. Love all of you, every complex layer. You are everything and more just as you are right now.
Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you – Rumi
Meditation
Find stillness within, quiet
your mind and embrace a
moment of peace.
Listen to your breath, feel
the rhythm of your heart
and bring awareness to your body.
Ground down into the earth,
can you feel the connection?
Thoughts may come,
acknowledge them and let them go.
Always coming back to the breath,
your heart. Your home.
Be kind and go with the flow.
Jo x
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