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Mental Health
Solitude can be like a bad date; you’re not really interested in this person but can't seem to find a good way to leave. This situation has been like a crappy rerun playing each day, especially for the last 16 months. The pandemic imposed a degree of solitude that I had never dealt with before, and I have endlessly grappled with the loneliness, isolation, and anxiety attributed to it.
But I’m starting to turn this franchise around. Fighting the negative emotions associated with solitude didn't seem to be working, but each time I failed, I seemed to accept it and surrender to it more. I think that’s the key. But I read some great books too along the way to get me there. Three quotes in particular really helped me understand what solitude actually is and how powerful it can be.
1. “Hello, solitude. How are you today? Come, sit with me, and I will care for you.”
— Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh
When anxiety happens to me, I tend to fall in the place of the lone victim, and not the observer. Becoming the observer involves changing your perspective to one reading our mind’s narrative in the third person. These feelings are coming to us, they are not us. It is just our job to feel…
