You don't have to live in a remote, isolated place like my cabin to experience loneliness. It can be felt even if you are surrounded by hundreds of people in a big city or a company of family or pals.
Thank you for this. I needed it. I am struggling with a great deal of loneliness since the loss of my husband. I know what I need to do to but being reminded and encouraged is necessary to keep me on a healing track in this journey.
Sometimes we sacrifice our dignity when we experience loneliness .We let it influence the choices we make especially the people we let into our lives for loneliness sake. I think that we sometimes are afraid to be alone with our own thoughts and memories. This fear drives us to find distractions that we think can save us from ourselves and our thoughts. I find that my loneliness forces me to reflect on my life and the choices that I make, it offers me the time that I need to become more self aware and grounded. I use loneliness for strength to build my emotional muscles that help me cope with life’s disappointments. We cannot depend on others to find value in who we are as people, we must acknowledge to ourselves our own value, after all, if we see ourselves as less than valuable what can anyone do for us to make us feel valuable or validated.
If we have to surround ourselves with people that really don’t care for the sake of loneliness , I would choose loneliness instead.
We are all alone, our challenge is to be able to find ways to deal with this sense of emptiness and turn it into motivation inspiring us to look inside ourselves for the comfort we seek.
Loneliness is an acquired taste for sure. Not many of my friends and family understand how content I can be with just myself for company for long stretches of time. I choose it, it is not forced on me. I might comply with invitations but usually fret until I go, despite enjoying myself later. This is not a life choice for everyone.
Always enjoy your posts Gurdeep, this was an excellent read. I found a lot of what you wrote very familiar. I embrace loneliness for a period of time, but eventually open the door and move forward, like a river, an excellentway to put it. Thank you
Yes that is so true. One can be lonely even in a crowd of people. It seems that as one gets older Lonliness can become a more constant companion. When you are younger you don't realize this but it is important to pay attention to people around you especially older people. If you take a few minutes to engage in conversation with an older person you can brighten their day more than you can imagine. Now I am past my mid 70s and the hardest thing I deal with is losing friends. I don't mean losing friends because they have died. I mean losing friends because they stop keeping in touch. I have tried really hard to cultivate the few friends I have but some of them never phone me or email me and never invite me to visit or join them in something. I really only have a handful of friends and about half of them do keep in touch and make an effort. I think of my friends often and when I see something funny or interesting online I will often send them a link or an image. I don't do this a lot - only once in a while. Sometimes they reply sometimes they don't. I don't understand why they never reciprocate - they never send me something funny or interesting. I try not to let it get me down but sometimes it does. It wouldn't be so hard if I wasn't a fairly social person. I really enjoy interacting with people - chatting and having discussions but that doesn't happen very often. I have learned that I am not alone in these feelings. Many older people feel the same way as I do. So if you are reading this and you are a lot younger, keep this in mind when you see an older person. Maybe they'd really appreciate you acknowledging them by saying hello or engaging them in a short conversation.
Thank you for this. I needed it. I am struggling with a great deal of loneliness since the loss of my husband. I know what I need to do to but being reminded and encouraged is necessary to keep me on a healing track in this journey.
Sometimes we sacrifice our dignity when we experience loneliness .We let it influence the choices we make especially the people we let into our lives for loneliness sake. I think that we sometimes are afraid to be alone with our own thoughts and memories. This fear drives us to find distractions that we think can save us from ourselves and our thoughts. I find that my loneliness forces me to reflect on my life and the choices that I make, it offers me the time that I need to become more self aware and grounded. I use loneliness for strength to build my emotional muscles that help me cope with life’s disappointments. We cannot depend on others to find value in who we are as people, we must acknowledge to ourselves our own value, after all, if we see ourselves as less than valuable what can anyone do for us to make us feel valuable or validated.
If we have to surround ourselves with people that really don’t care for the sake of loneliness , I would choose loneliness instead.
We are all alone, our challenge is to be able to find ways to deal with this sense of emptiness and turn it into motivation inspiring us to look inside ourselves for the comfort we seek.
Thank you for these wise insights into the sources and antidotes for loneliness. Your words ring so true to me.
Loneliness is an acquired taste for sure. Not many of my friends and family understand how content I can be with just myself for company for long stretches of time. I choose it, it is not forced on me. I might comply with invitations but usually fret until I go, despite enjoying myself later. This is not a life choice for everyone.
Always enjoy your posts Gurdeep, this was an excellent read. I found a lot of what you wrote very familiar. I embrace loneliness for a period of time, but eventually open the door and move forward, like a river, an excellentway to put it. Thank you
love to read your stuff, Gurdeep! I like watching your dancing and hearing the music....
Thank you once again for your article, Gurdeep!
Yes that is so true. One can be lonely even in a crowd of people. It seems that as one gets older Lonliness can become a more constant companion. When you are younger you don't realize this but it is important to pay attention to people around you especially older people. If you take a few minutes to engage in conversation with an older person you can brighten their day more than you can imagine. Now I am past my mid 70s and the hardest thing I deal with is losing friends. I don't mean losing friends because they have died. I mean losing friends because they stop keeping in touch. I have tried really hard to cultivate the few friends I have but some of them never phone me or email me and never invite me to visit or join them in something. I really only have a handful of friends and about half of them do keep in touch and make an effort. I think of my friends often and when I see something funny or interesting online I will often send them a link or an image. I don't do this a lot - only once in a while. Sometimes they reply sometimes they don't. I don't understand why they never reciprocate - they never send me something funny or interesting. I try not to let it get me down but sometimes it does. It wouldn't be so hard if I wasn't a fairly social person. I really enjoy interacting with people - chatting and having discussions but that doesn't happen very often. I have learned that I am not alone in these feelings. Many older people feel the same way as I do. So if you are reading this and you are a lot younger, keep this in mind when you see an older person. Maybe they'd really appreciate you acknowledging them by saying hello or engaging them in a short conversation.
Sending you lots of love, Gini! 🧡
💝
Makes me smile every time.