Thought for the day.

Being lonely and being alone are not only two different things, but the latter can help to cure the former.

In being alone, we can find peace. And not just the kind of silent, easy 'peace' we think of when someone tells us about it, but the peace in our minds and hearts that come from knowing ourselves.

So, in being alone, we can be with ourselves. And in being with ourselves, there is not only peace, but comfort.

Comfort that, at the end of the day, you won't dread going to bed without somone to say 'good night' to.
Comfort in the sound of your own thoughts filling a room, be they verbal or non-verbal.
Comfort in making decisions for yourself.
Comfort in the times when you really just want to dance in your underwear.
Comfort knowing that you don't need to seek others to be happy.
Comfort in ordering food for one.
Comfort in asking yourself what you want, and then letting yourself have it.

This may seem a bit out of place, but as a traveler it's always important to know how to be alone. And furthermore, it's okay to admit to being lonely. In Western culture today, potentially sad emotions like loneliness aren't discussed because they represent vulnerability. But isn't it when we bring them to the surface that we realize they aren't so formidable afterall?

Let me end with a video I've loved since the first time I realized I had to learn to be alone:



With love; know you are never completely alone.
-Laura