Henri Nouwen -- Reaching Out

Reading this book is ABSOLUTELY FLOORING ME.

Here's some things that are sticking out to me, in his first chapter about the movement from loneliness to solitude.

As long as our loneliness brings us together with the hope that together we no longer will be alone, we castigate each other with our unfulfilled and unrealistic desires for oneness, inner tranquility and the uninterrupted experience of communion..Real openness to each other also means a real closedness, because only he who can hold a secret can safely share his knowledge. When we do not protect with great care our inner mystery, we will never be able to form community...To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. This requires not only courage but a strong faith....our loneliness is hiding unknown beauty.