alone with grace
I have spent many moments in absolute loneliness of the self. I’ve carried this with me wherever I’ve gone. I still do. But this feeling isn’t a weight anymore. It is a slow-release. Every time I acknowledge this loneliness, it becomes a gradual leaving.
I’ve realized that doing the thing I fear frees me. Eventually, you become a friend to your own pain. Eventually, what was once deeply painful doesn’t feel so painful anymore.
Life will yield to you. In moments when you are exhausted from your suffering, life will lift you.
The sun will become a balm for your loneliness.
The birds will play a symphony…their wings will show you how to be free.
The earth will hold you with compassion.
The stranger that you see in a foreign city will remind you how to be alone with grace.
This is a loving message for every one of you who want to travel but would rather have someone by their side in order to leave:
Buy a film camera, let that be your travel companion instead. Perhaps buy an all-manual 35mm film camera that requires the depth of your attention and focus to adjust the settings for every shot.
Document the world around you — especially those moments that you feel are so often overlooked.
Dissolve yourself in the beauty of them. Let it become a meditation: slow your pace, feel your breath, focus, click.
Remember that your one, precious life is a gift and leads you so subtly to self-realization. Investigate the wonders of it. They are revealed in every place you visit, person you see or meet, feeling you feel, thought you think, decision you make. As you pay close attention to the happenings of your life, you will see the indivisibility of you, the sky, the flower, the cat, your neighbor, and more. The lens of your life will change. Compassion will overwhelm your heart. Forgiveness will be an easy feat.
Share your findings with the world. Save a few to show your cherished loved ones. Inspire someone else to do the same.