Instead of running away from our loneliness and trying to forget or deny it,
we have to protect it and turn it into a fruitful solitude.
To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of loneliness
and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude.
This requires not only courage but also a strong faith.
As hard as it is to beleive that the dry desolate desert can yield endless varieties of flowers,
it is equally hard to imagine that our loneliness is hiding unknown beauty.
The movement from loneliness to solitude,
however,
is the beginning from the restless sense to the restful spirit,
from the outward-reaching craving to the inward-reaching search,
from the fearful clinging to the fearless play.
