Become An Island

There will come a time in your life when it is best to isolate yourself. Isolation tends to have a negative connotation but when the world seems to be going far too fast and too loud for you to handle, sometimes isolation will be your salvation. It is important to recognize the times that you need to shut yourself off from the world for a while because being alone can mean clarity.  At times, life will hand you a giant, stinking bag of shit and as much as you’d like to hand it back and say, “No thanks, babe- you have it,” you won’t be able to.

There will be times when you can’t help but cry loudly and hideously. You’ll cry because you can’t possibly comprehend all that is going on in your life. It doesn’t have to be because something traumatic has happened to you; sometimes you just get so bogged down in the day-to-day stresses you can’t help but feel like you’re slowly suffocating. When this happens, you need to know that is okay to retreat- if only for a little bit.

People often ask me if I’m angry with them, or if they’ve done something wrong when I decide to take reprieve from the social world for a few days. They usually haven’t. Sometimes I just need to give myself four or five days and become an island. Become something that can’t be reached easily, that can’t be harmed by others or stressed out by the small things in life that seem to chip away at our happiness. During these times I retreat into myself, I will rarely answer a phone call or a text because it’s hard to allow yourself the clarity that comes from ugly crying and binge watching The Kardashians all by your lonesome when you’re constantly responding on your phone. There is a certain type of peace that can only come from eating a large container of french fries with no one around to judge you or ask you to share.

Never let anyone make you feel guilty for wanting to be alone. Don’t let them make you feel like some anti-social jerk because you want a few days to collect your thoughts and turn off your phone. Being disconnected from other people will make you realize who brings joy into your life, and who only causes you more stress. Allow yourself mini-vacations from your bustling social calendar.  You shouldn’t spend your whole life hiding away, but for a while it is fine okay to become an island.