Sometimes in a crowd we feel tired, cold, and lonely. We may wish to withdraw
to be by ourselves and become warm again, as I did when I closed the windows
and sat by the fire, protected from the damp, cold wind. Our senses are our
windows to the world, and sometimes the wind blows through them and disturbs
everything within us. Some of us leave our windows open all the time, allowing
the sights and sounds of the world to invade us, penetrate us, and expose our sad,
troubled selves. We feel so cold, lonely, and afraid. Do you ever find yourself
watching an awful TV program, unable to turn it off? The raucous noises,
explosions of gunfire, are upsetting. Yet you don't get up and turn it off.
Why do you torture yourself in this way? Don't you want to close your windows?
Are you frightened of solitude--the emptiness and the loneliness
you may find when you face yourself alone?

--Thich Nhat Hanh--