Are You Prepared To Be With Yourself?

Over the past few weeks, life as we know it has taken a plot twist. Between the global quarantines and the fear-based media lies our sanity gasping for air. What if I told you you could escape within yourself, and there was a silver lining? I want to change the way you view this new norm; see it as a blessing and less of a curse.

Between 1603 and 1613, Shakespeare was quarantined because of the plague. During this time Shakespeare's powers as a writer were at their height, and he wrote King Lear. When Hitler was imprisoned for trying to seize control of Germany in 1923, he wrote Mein Kampf. When Frida Kahlo was confined to her bed for three months, she was unable to return to school and therefore began painting. There seems to be a correlation between solitude and personal revolutions.

Between 2017- 2019, I found solace in solitude. I had my first job at the age of 9, and by 26, I was tired of being on survival mode. I remember working seven days a week, and my side hustles had side hustles. I was afraid to end up on the streets and refused to hear my mother say, "I told you so." My mother got pregnant with me at 15, and by the time I was 17, I left home. Between 17 and 25, life tested me; however, I prevailed. I had popularity, an apartment, and steady streams of income, what else did I need? The fall of 2016 arrived, and I lost my best friend. My grandmother was the center of my world, and she passed in her sleep. Feelings I repressed for years started to resurface, I began to lose interest in my hobbies, text messages were left unread, and the world turned a dark shade of gray. I brushed it off and continued to party with friends, workout, and date. I was in complete denial, until one day, I broke.

I believe when you spend a significant amount of time alone, you unearth parts of yourself that you overlook when people continuously surround you. Whether you realize it or not, we pick up traits, quirks, thoughts, and feelings from other people. Everything is energy, and that's not spirituality; it's science. The longer we are alone, we shed these layers, and our true selves start to emerge unapologetically. When we are sure of ourselves and who we are, we can truly see the person who is across from us. By viewing the person across from us correctly, we do not project onto them who we think they are. We hold space for them, allowing them to bloom into their true nature fully.

What I failed to do years ago was to sit and be still in my own company. It wasn't until the depression hit me like a ton of bricks that I decided to isolate. After spending months home, innovating, reading, studying, mediating, and in prayer, I cultivated a brand that is now helping hundreds of people and one day millions.

Discern that, if you can't go outside, go within. Read books. Reflect. Meditate. Practice yoga. Daydream. Stretch. Write. Create. Sleep. Nurture yourself. Eat fruit. Soak your feet. Light some damn Candles. Listen to music. Paint. Dance. Draw. Seize this opportunity; this will not happen again in our lifetime. You will never find a companion as companionable as yourself, so love that person first.

P.S., Corona is totally safe to drink; don't believe the hype.