Each and every one of us at one point in our lives has felt left out, lonely and felt as though there was truly no one out there.

We have a plethora of labels to mark those who are alone. These labels come with the notion that these people are ‘missing’ something or someone. Even without these labels placed upon us, surrounded by people left, right and centre we can still feel alone.

What if I told you that those thoughts concerning being alone were complete rubbish?

Statistically we can break it down and look at loneliness in terms of a numbers game, how can we ever be alone with millions of other people just like us living their lives differently, but very similar to what we do.

Some of the many corrupt thoughts that you may have include: convincing yourself that there is absolutely no one, that there is not a single person or thing that cares about you, that no one empathises with you, that no one has been in your position or is experiencing something very similar to what you have. These are all ultimately a complete lie.

The purpose of convincing yourself that you are alone will only draw yourself deeper down into yourself and essentially feeds the other destructive thoughts you may be having. For destruction feeds off of further destruction.

So why do we do this to ourselves?

From the seemingly positive aspects of the way our society is structured it simultaneously allows for separation and isolation of the individual. The privacy, concentration on individualism, material and money-orientated values, as well as constant requirements of comparing and succeeding it is no wonder that people begin to believe they are alone.

These downward spirals occur when too much focus is placed upon particular values, where the focus is solely on the “I” the “me”. Although focusing upon the self is fundamentally important, it is the isolation of oneself, where the cutting of connections is undertaken that can cause great detriment to us as humans.

As much as it might absolutely kill you to reach out and interact, talk, laugh and experience things with new people in new places, getting out of this barren shell will allow you to understand that you really are never alone.

Each experience as special as it is to us, it has been experienced or is being experienced by another person. There are billions of people living, loving, hating, hurting, fighting, or people just about to give up.

The funny thing with human interaction is that many of us are very skilled in the art of concealment, as you smile and greet a stranger on the street and think to yourself “wow, this person really has it all don’t they”. You don't see what is burried beneath that. The times they sat alone for hours, questioning their lives as you have questioned yours. Just because their hardships they still carry seem more brightly decorated than yours does not mean that their suffering was any less.

When interacting with others keep this in mind, the loneliness you feel could be felt by the person right in front of you. If others are struggling or have struggled as you have struggled, could you ever think again that you are ever really alone?

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- viazenar

(Artwork: Tomasz Alen Kopera)
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