No one is around me. Am I entering this Opening alone?

 Different Ways

We know there are many varieties of Openings. While the choice whether to enter an Opening is ours alone, often there are others involved as we enter an Opening. Perhaps we have decided that our family is moving. Or we are joining a new organization as an employee. Or we are part of a group with common purpose. Although we decide whether to enter an Opening on our own, often that choice involves considering the people involved who have or will enter the Opening as well.

In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy finds herself no longer in Kansas and alone, as her house touches down in Oz. She must start out on her own to find her way home. Eventually, as time passes, the lion, scarecrow and tin man show up as allies to walk with her on her journey. That initial aloneness is not easy for her, but she has no choice but to move forward.

There are Openings that we enter with others and ones that we enter alone. Last year I lost my husband and found myself entering a very Unwelcome Opening . That was an Opening I entered alone. I had to enter find my way as grief swallowed me. In Openings like these, we grow. Perhaps the only way to grow is to face something alone. As time went on, as with Dorothy, people started showing up and I was no longer as alone as I was at the start.

Going It Alone

When we find ourselves entering an Opening alone, what do we need, how do we cope? We rely on ourselves and that is what strengthens us. If we feel we are not ready, we can focus on what we need. Maybe we do not have others entering the Opening with us, but we still can reach out for support. In these Openings however, our progress rests with us. We are the ones who must see ourselves through.

Being alone often feels unnatural in our extroverted society but it does not have to. However, many do look within and are comfortable in their aloneness. If we find ourselves uneasy entering an Opening alone, here are some things we can do:

• Practice self-kindness – taking care of ourselves and silencing any critical voices that come from within.
• Take stock of the present moment – focus on where we are and how that looks to us without too much emphasis on the past or future – until we get our bearings.
• Embrace that this Opening asks us to enter alone, that it is okay and that there may be special benefits in doing so.
• Find a “point of view” regarding the Opening – what is its meaning for our life?