There’s a lot of beauty and comfort in belonging with people. We all crave to have circles of friends and family who see us and know us and love us for who we are. No masks, no pretensions, no nothing — just the raw us.
But that’s the ideal scenario. In reality, life is way different.
Of course, we all continue to crave belongingness. But do we really manage to get that all the time? — maybe not.
And what happens then?
I had one such isolating experience the past year. It was tough, to say the least. Sometimes we fight battles we wish we didn’t have to. Sometimes those battles are against people who I would rather have had on my side. But life has its ways and if there’s anything I’ve learnt in the past few years, that is, the only way to the other side of pain is through it.
But then, theoretically, it sounds nice. When life brings you to the knees and each day is a struggle, these thoughts are hard to live by.
Yet, there was something that helped me stay true to who I believe I am and the things I believe in.
Maybe it was a fire test that had to shape my life and my perspective. Maybe it was a way for me to find resilience when everything around me came crumbling down.
But most of all, I survived because I was able to be kind to myself. If there’s anyone that helped me through this phase, that was my inner voice that kept telling me that I would be okay and everything would be okay.
At a time when I stood among people and yet felt a deep sense of isolation, the ability to show compassion to myself and accept my humanness were my pillars of strength.
I’m grateful.
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