Blaise Pascal once said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

True in a certain sense, but incomplete. From experience, I can tell you it can become quite enjoyable to sit quietly in a room alone. Sometimes so enjoyable that you consider doing it professionally.

We all want a life that feels good from the inside. To pursue our goals in a way that sustains us. Therapeutic conversation is one of the best tools we have for understanding ourselves.

There’s a quote from the Buddha that I think about a lot. His disciple Ānanda approaches him and says:

“This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie.”

The Buddha responds:

“Don’t say that, Ānanda! Don’t say that! Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life.”

I believe there's something powerful about being able to talk openly about shame, inadequacy, ambition, and what's really going on beneath the surface. I’ve been fortunate to have people I can do that with, and I know not everyone has.

It can be hard to sit with, and appreciate, the whole range of human experience: the grief, the joy, the rage, the boredom, the ecstasy, all of it. It takes courage, it takes patience, it takes curiosity.

In my experience, and I continue to learn, there's also no real alternative. We can distract, we can avoid, we can self-deceive, but it's simply not sustainable or deeply fulfilling. 

Have good can it get?  I wonder...