Coming Home to Myself Part 4: Hands on Glass

Note: “Coming Home to Myself” is a collection of vignettes in seven parts. Below you’ll find Part Four: Hands on Glass. I wrote these articles as a way of coming to terms with major life transitions, with the hope that these words may inspire those of you who are finding your path and defining what it means to be your authentic self.

The work involved in achieving personal growth can be difficult and lonely, but you aren’t alone and you will get through each struggle you face. We are all works in progress, and there wouldn’t be progress without the work.

IV. Hands on Glass

At times I felt alienated from certain loved ones as I readjusted into a new normal, whatever that was becoming post-separation. It was like being an outsider looking in on a world that I could see but that didn’t include me anymore.

The sensation reminded me of a black-and-white photo of Pablo Picasso I had once hung in my room in college (see above). Picasso’s hands are pressed against a window as he looks out at the viewer, appearing lost and alienated.

Likewise, I found myself peering out from behind the proverbial panes of glass. The view appeared the same with familiar faces and places, but there was the unmistakable sense that I was no longer a part of what I was seeing. I was apart from it and longing for a new scene, or maybe to be beckoned from the window.

Note: Featured image of Pablo Picasso by Robert Doisneau, 1952

Start reading the series at Part 1. Move on to Part 5.