Be with Yourself

Be with yourself. Yes, I’m not mad and I’m not talking about some utopian concept. I’m simply suggesting that we should be comfortable with our own company. With the changing lifestyle - the glitter of malls, noise & smoke of pubs, multiplexes, we are increasing spending less time to sit down and think where we are heading and even lesser time with ourselves.

If left alone in a room for an evening without television, internet and a mobile away from city, most of us would go mad or think what the hell are we doing here. The loneliness would start killing us. The idea of sitting down and appreciating the silence and calm seems maddening. Most of us would think – “I’m not an oldie to be appreciating all this. I’m still young and energetic”.

Well I’d just say that you are afraid of yourself. You are uncomfortable in your own company. There’s no harm in slowing down at times and spending time with yourself. It’s not that bad. The need to be somewhere else, somewhere more lively or noisy or glitzy is just a way of running away from your thoughts and inner voice. It’s postponing reality for a little more time, but mind you it’s just postponing and not erasing or cancelling it.

I’ll end by quoting Elizabeth Gilbert who has beautifully captured this feeling in a few lines:

“Learn the way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person’s body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.” – Eat Pray Love