Have you ever experienced that feeling of loneliness?
Did you allow yourself to embrace the feeling?
On the other hand, did you attempt to cover it up with external distractions?
Take a few minutes and think back to a time or a moment where you experienced that feeling of loneliness. Were you able to handle it by looking within or did you need to fill the void with something in your external environment?
This quote by Douglas Coupland is powerful because often when we experience that feeling of loneliness, many people rush to try to fill it or drown it with some external stimulus thinking that is the cure. However, it never works.
Ironically, when experiencing that feeling of loneliness it is best to be by yourself. It is so important to allow yourself to embrace it, understand it, and accept it.
There was a brief period recently where I felt stuck. I was lacking motivation and enthusiasm to make progress and move forward. It was something I couldn’t figure out. I didn’t understand why.
After spending some time meditating, which if you don’t currently practice I highly recommend it, I uncovered that the root cause of my lack of motivation and enthusiasm. It was because I was lonely. I didn’t have anyone I felt I could truly connect with at that point in my life. I didn’t have anyone at that moment who I felt “got” me. It left me with that feeling of loneliness.
Does that make sense?
Do you know that feeling?
It hurts. It’s that heaviness in your chest yet that emptiness inside.
I could have easily tried to lighten the heaviness and fill the void with something external but I knew that wasn’t the answer. Nothing or no one would solve it other than me being alone with myself and embracing it.
There’s the irony…
In order for me to work through that feeling of being lonely, I needed to be alone with it.
However, when people are experiencing that feeling, being alone is the last thing they want to do. They resort to unsupportive activities such as binge eating, gambling, drinking, even establishing new intimate relationships in an attempt to cure that loneliness. Maybe it covers it up for a little while but it’s still there.
Therefore, if you are someone that has experienced that feeling of loneliness or you may even be going through it right now. You’ve tried the external cures with no success and are now asking, “What does that mean to be alone with it?”
It means to sit with the feeling without trying to push it away or avoid it. Take the time to self-reflect and treat yourself well. This isn’t a time to judge or beat yourself up about what you are feeling.
Take the time to be alone, look within, and love yourself.
Now it’s your turn.
How does this quote inspire you?
Tell me about an experience where you experienced that feeling of loneliness. Were you able to work through it by embracing it or did you attempt to solve the pain relying on external factors? Are you still feeling lonely? If so, reach out.
Contact me or share your thoughts below in the Comments section.
Let’s get the discussion going.
Remember, you are not alone on this journey. Together we can become stronger individuals.
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