Validating One's Felt State

 The world is so distracting, with so many new things to do, and it can be so easy to get caught up in conversations. I find personally that it can be hard to find my voice in all of this. What do I believe in and who am I, really? What do I care the most about? I have found that in reading and writing, as well as in solitude, I am able to most likely get centered and find the ground of my felt being, rather than getting caught up in the words that others say, which often becomes a sort of loop in the mind.
  Contemplative practices are so good in the sense that they can allow people the space and time to recover their own sense of voice. Sadly, it seems that there is so little time for that to happen, and when it does happen, there is often the hidden implication that it's either a 'luxury' or an 'indulgence' rather than an actual necessity. Settling the mind and removing oneself from distractions can bring a person in touch with who they really are and their deepest intentions, rather than getting caught up in the presumed intentions of others. Here, it's not important who loves us so much as who we love. And we know who we love simply because it's the felt knowing that these are the people we enjoy being with and want to care for. The same goes with the things we love to do. Nobody has to tell you to do something you love, since it's so natural to you, and you are not even looking for ways to score good points for doing it. And what's liberating about this as well is that there is no need to impose one's likes on others in order to validate these likes. For instance, my liking a particular painting does not necessitate that I go out and buy it or take it away from someone else. It's simply acknowledging that my feelings are valid in and of themselves, and they don't require a reciprocation from others to be real or to exist.
    It's hard to validate one's feelings, because we are often brought up to believe that there needs to be some fulfillment to all our wants. But what if wanting itself had its own eternity, or its own reason to be which is valid without having any fulfilment? What would it like to just feel that longing without the need to 'cap' it or fulfill it? Wouldn't it be nice to know that our love is still love, regardless of whether it is recognized by others or returned?