Explore yourself

As far back as I can remember, I have enjoyed spending time alone. Some people find this odd. And, even express pity when I tell them what I've been up to (as it often involves my solitude). But, contrary to poular belief spending time alone is OK.

I detest the idea that there is something 'wrong' with introverts and that we must constantly be babbling on about something to feel like we are a part of something important. The constant need to be validated by others is a notion our generation, or just society in general, has gotten too comfortable with. I enjoy silence sometimes, but I also love great conversation and good company. 

We can have both, yes? Yes. 

When you arrive in a new place, I think it's a wonderful idea to set off on explorations by yourself. The benefit to self exploration is being able to see how you react and interact with your new environment and the people in it without being swayed by outside views and opinions of others. Of course, outside perspective is great but a huge part of my adulthood has been diving head first into things that terrify me, alone, and without a safety net. It's scary at first, but soon enough I realized that I'm perfectly capable of holding my own without glancing over to a dear friend for approval. 

Also, when I mention arriving to a new place, I don't just mean a specific location but also in a new relationship-romantic and otherwise, or a mental and/or spiritual place that you've come to. 

I suppose that everyone's different but how can you know where to go if you don't know where you are? How can you explore other people and new adventures if you haven't taken some time to explore yourself first? Even for a little while...otherwise I think we're just coasting-waiting for someone else to give us answers that we already have but we didn't even know it. 

All in all, I don't think we should ever stop exploring in and outside of ourselves. There's much to see, to learn, to share and be happy about!

Until next time.

Happy exploring,

Dobs