ON PRUNING AND THE POWER OF SECLUSION

In the last 8 months since I hit my personal rockbottom back in March, I will confess to experiencing a sort of ego death, as one may call it. Although, I do feel like my ego death led to me being slightly egoistical and selfish; but would you categorize realizing what works best for you and your needs selfish? Perhaps that's a debate for another day.

I think, in this life that urges to look at perspectives as black and white, it is important to seclude yourself from mainstream opinion and do a little pruning. To prune is to get rid of something that you do not need or want. In this case, I encourage you to prune certain perspectives that you feel you only believe in because perhaps a friend or a post on social media urged you to believe in them. Do a little more questioning. Call your inquisitive self to the forefront. For example, every month, I question the people I'm following on Instagram and unfollow the ones that I feel stagnate my thoughts or I simply don't find joy in following anymore. More on that in my social media manifesto.

My personal circle of people I interact with has since shrank since I pruned back in March, and it shrank even smaller when I secluded myself back home, thus limiting my ability to interact in-person. However, even today, as I reside in a city, I still don't interact with many people. Mostly not by choice, as I am incredibly busy, but I do find myself more cautious of who I spend my energies with. Sure, this sounds extremely pretentious and obnoxious, but it's also part of "self-care:" only interact with those you feel the most joy interacting with. I like to interact with people who want to challenge my perspectives as much as they want to challenge theirs. Learning from others is such a joyful activity.

You know, growing up, I have had people, especially male-identifying persons, outright tell me: "I don't want to be friends with you anymore." As an adolescent, hearing those words hurt. However, growing up now, I understand it. To be fair, I was quite a blabbermouth, and problematic at that, during my youth. I congratulate the people in my past who felt that I was not for them any more and would rather prune me than ghost me. I now carry that ethos with me today, and it's something that I am embracing. Of course, there are kinder ways to say that. More on the power of verbiage at a later date... 

Tl;dr: question everything. Shed your old selves to provide space for your new and improved self. Living in recluse isn't a bad thing, so long as you feel like you're changing for the better.