Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Lonliness vs. Aloneness


"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore send not to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." John Donne

I was thinking of a friend of mine who feels like he has to do everything in his life alone. Thinking of him got me thinking about this quote so I looked it up. At first I thought it would be something comforting, but what I realized is that this quote is about loneliness, not about being and doing alone.

We are linked, we are one as members of the human race and inhabitants of the planet earth. We are never truly alone. And yet we are often beset by feeling of being completely alone. Disconnected...it is possible to realize both sensations, connection and disconnection, at once.

I am surrounded by a large community of loving people. Family, friends, acquaintances and it is seldom that I have time to spend alone. Yet I am often lonely and I often feel as if I have to do everything alone, unsupported, out on a limb. This sentiment is nothing new, I know, but it strikes me how most humans have this feeling in common, but we do nothing to dispel it for future generations. I think we are a communal society, living separate from each other and all longing to go back into the fold. We are not made to do things alone. I think of how much happier I am when I am functioning as a member of a group and I know this is true.

We have so much more power when we are connected. This is the reason for the fear-mongering that goes on in the US. It keeps us separate, alone, and powerless...how do we find connection with one another? How do we show our humaness without fear?

How do we ask for help?

5 comments:

- A - C - said...

Very right BQ, I often share this feeling. Sometimes I think it is because of the overwhelming number of low specific value connections versus the very low number of important ones. In other words: "they are there but not there enough to count on them".

tgl43 said...

Ahh you were reading my mind again.
Will chat later
Hugs
T

- A - C - said...

for BQ: referring to your recent comment on my blog: I'm a man. (Andrea is a masculine name in Italian).
I would appreciate if you could correct it at your convenience, thank you.

- A - C - said...

sorry. in the attempt to modify your comment, I accidentally deleted it, and apparently it is irreversible.
please accept my apologies, as I truly appreciated your commenting.
thank you
A.

Kale Girl said...

you are so smart! I love that you are my sister!

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