Hey everyone, it's Dora here. I just want to let you know that we've launched a brand new

call and advice podcast called Dear Headspace. Each week the headspace teachers along with

some amazing new friends are answering your questions about relationships, work, life,

mindfulness, and just about everything else. It's so different from anything we've ever

created and we're so excited for you to hear it. Dear Headspace comes out every Tuesday

on the Headspace app and anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening.

Hi everyone, it's me, Dora. Welcome back to Radio Headspace and to Thursday. In the past

year, I've been thinking a lot about loneliness and not only thinking about it but feeling

it too. As you can imagine in the last three years, my experience of loneliness has heightened

and I'm sure for some of you it has as well. So while I was away on a Buddhist retreat

this past Christmas, the source of my personal loneliness was revealed. I was relearning

how to be around other people while awkwardly practicing social distancing. I watched people

interact and witness friendships and connections form. One part of me was afraid and the other

part of me felt stuck. Should I engage with people? Do people even want to talk to me?

During a discussion circle, we were sharing our experience of the previous day which was

spent in silence. After each one of us spoke, we would pass this rock that had truth written

on it to the person beside us. As a rock arrived in the hand of an elderly lady from Brooklyn,

New York, she shared about how she had lived most of her life alone. Towards the end of

her sharing, she asked the group a question which was, are you really lonely or are you

just afraid of rejection? And the collective awe was so thick in that room that day.

When I heard that question, it invited me to reflect on my own life and the many moments

I've chosen to spend alone. Am I truly enjoying my own company or am I just afraid of being

...