Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness.
All human beings are alone. No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.
Letting our aloneness grow into solitude and not into loneliness is a lifelong struggle. It requires conscious choices about whom to be with, what to study, how to pray, and when to ask for counsel. But wise choices will help us to find the solitude where our hearts can grow in love.
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These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen’s Bread for the Journey.
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I am able to see a better future and I am on my path to make it come true!
What others think of me is non of my business! What I think of myself the key to seeing my life bloom!
I am learning to believe in my inherent goodness.
I am not my past – I am who I am at this moment and that is more than enough to be whole and healthy.
from HenriNouwen.org
One of the greatest dangers in the spiritual life is self-rejection. When we say, “If people really knew me, they wouldn’t love me,” we choose the road toward darkness. Often we are made to believe that self-deprecation is a virtue, called humility. But humility is in reality the opposite of self-deprecation. It is the grateful recognition that we are precious in God’s eyes and that all we are is pure gift. To grow beyond self-rejection we must have the courage to listen to the voice calling us God’s beloved sons and daughters, and the determination always to live our lives according to this truth.
I am beginning to find my way back to wholeness and I love it!
I am growing and becoming who I was meant to be.
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