This past week, I happened to read a quote by Canadian poet, Rupi Kaur, “Loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself.” We live in a world where most people look outside themselves for acceptance and belonging. We all require connection and a sense of community, it is part of our human experience. However, how many people feel comfortable making their own decisions and being responsible for the actions and choices they make? How many people have an actual connection to themselves?
Expecting someone else to meet your needs and wants is dangerous. It leaves a person feeling dependent on something outside of themselves for happiness. The antithesis for loneliness is self-love and acceptance. Lately, I have been asking myself, “What do I want to do?” Instead of going through the motions of simply doing, I am learning to meet my own needs.
This time of year brings up many feelings, loneliness being a powerful one. I say, learn ways to develop a connection to yourself (pick up books, watch lectures, join a support group) by being responsible for the actions and choices you make. It is also extremely important to have a support network to reach out to when you’re not feeling great. By establishing intimacy with dependable people you learn to trust your own decision making. Truly, everything we need is inside of us, we just need to uncover the parts of ourselves we do not yet know.