you must gift yourself hours of solitude

You must gift yourself hours of solitude.

To learn what it is to become quiet inside — 

to open yourself to the feelings within, to bravely bear them all, and emerge serenely with a newfound understanding about who you are and who you are not.

Self-understanding, which comes from time spent alone and in silence, is a protective force.

It shows you what to move toward and away from. 

It shows you who to let in and who to let out.

It shows you what is true and what it is untrue.

Your task is to embrace yourself before anyone or anything else. When the mind is clouded or in a great deal of negativity, it will become difficult to remain with the heaviness. It will be convenient to flee and take up the first distraction that comes…

But inevitability, life will lead you to be by yourself. Even if you spend your hours looking outside, life will take you to the core of your being with each difficulty that comes. And at the core of your being, it is you and only you who will be there.

So turn toward what is most within and see what insight it offers. Discover the strength that lies in hiding; discover the love that awaits your recognition.

Know that you are never someone to run away from. You are deserving of your own attention and kindness.

If there is an invitation that you hand out freely, one that says “I am here for you,”

Please address this invitation to your own heart, first, before anyone else.