During this season may we pause
To feel the presence of Love,
See the Light of spiritual awareness,
And enjoy the peace of our Universe
As we recognize our Oneness with everything.
~Unknown
At the empty nest turning point of middle age, something arose in me, and my journal became full of entries about being alone. I discovered that two entries written 10 years apart were almost identical. I had not yet learned to dignify "alone" with the name of Solitude, but I knew what I wanted, what I needed—as if my life was depriving me of something as essential as the air I breathed.