Loneliness, An Opportunity To Meet

Loneliness is often understood as something negative, something to flee or regret. In fact, it constitutes one of our most important fears both at the beginning and at the end of our lives …  Many people are afraid of “being alone” or “feeling alone”, either on a specific basis or for longer periods of time. There are even those who when they identify that loneliness is going to accompany them, they automatically immerse themselves in activities and stay as long as it does not go in search of them.

What is it about loneliness that so many people reject it? Why are we so afraid of it? Beyond its negative connotation, can we find something positive in it? It is possible, we just have to free ourselves from some prejudices. Let’s go deeper.

The negative conception of loneliness

For most people, the feeling of loneliness is related to isolation or the idea of ​​not being part of something ; It is even sometimes related to the belief that nobody cares about us, that we are not enough to belong to other people’s worlds.

From this perspective, loneliness is a negative experience that produces suffering, that is, an interior experience that derives from isolation or physical and emotional distancing. Thus, for most people, loneliness is a setback that can lead to a blockage in emotional life over time.

Even so, it is important to know that the experience of loneliness depends on each person. Almost everyone harbors their own loneliness, what differentiates us is our attitude towards it: some struggle to overcome it, others choose to ignore it and a few delve into it.

The positives of being alone

Although the human being is a social being par excellence, being alone is a very common fact for all of us, since we do not always have the opportunity to be with other people. And it is, certainly, in these moments, when we can enjoy ourselves more.

How many of the activities of your daily routine do you usually do in company? Surely a good part of them you do when you are alone, whether it is reading a book, studying for an exam, doing a job, listening to music, enjoying the vision of a landscape or thinking about how to solve a problem, among others.

There are numerous activities in which we immerse ourselves in the absence of company. And although they may seem to be leisure activities, many of them are linked to our personal growth and development, since allowing ourselves to be alone with ourselves allows us to find ourselves and think about our life. Reflect on how we are and where we are going, what we need or simply enjoy the experience of getting to know each other a little more.

Choosing solitude at certain times is positive, since for a time we move away from those stereotypes and beliefs that surround us and determine our lives without realizing it. The question is not to stay with loneliness day after day, that is, not to stay to live with it, but to choose it as an impulse to move forward.

Perhaps there is a great fear of loneliness in our society, but if we are able to find a balance between the moments that we dedicate to others and those that we dedicate to ourselves, we can enjoy a pleasant experience when we are alone. In this way, we will free ourselves from that fear of feeling empty and we will look at loneliness with different eyes …