September 08, 2016

Loneliness

September 08, 2016/ Nick LeForce

At the heart of loneliness is all that you love. The empty embrace, when your arms close in on yourself and you find nothing on which to lean, when there are no hands to catch your falling heart, no eyes to witness your acts of beauty in the world, no ears to hear the dreams you hold precious, no arms to lift your spirit in defeat, and no smile to share laughter at life’s little tricks; when you have nothing left in which to find solace except your own soul, these are the moments when the mirror refuses your lies and shows your true self.

How you stand in your loneliness is, ultimately, how you stand in life. To live in the world is to dance between two opposing truths: that you are a singularity, an essence separate from all else, utterly alone, while you are also, at the same time, a part of a great web of life from which you can never extricate yourself. Your power comes from the space between, from the edge of yourself that you bring to that breach and that leaps across the synaptic gap sparking life and giving you the drive to make your mark on the world.

Many people find loneliness unbearable and avoid it at all cost. Perhaps the first question to ask is:

Can you stand in your loneliness?
If so, how do you stand in your loneliness?