Loneliness

There was a child that had every possible thing life could offer it at its age. His parents saw to it that he got the best toys, best books and best clothes, so that he could be the best amongst his friends. Everybody envied him for all that he had and all that he was. Yet, the spark in his eyes was missing and he was not as happy as rest of the kids his age. Although his parents made sure he got the best of the material world, did not understand that their separation had created a void in him which could never be filled. A child who had all the opportunities of becoming a bright young man, had been impaired by this psychological impairment called loneliness. This is not a plot for a typical movie about how some kids get into bad company or worse yet drugs.

Loneliness is a feeling everybody feels at some point in life. Some of us as kids would have experienced it since we did not have any siblings or were left alone in a hostel, some of us as adolescents who did not have a partner of the opposite sex when the whole world seemed to be partying in pairs, still some of us as adults when we couldn't find our better halves and a few of us at old age when our soulmates were taken away from us. It leaves us empty and gives a feeling of not being cared for. Isn't that the worst that could happen to us, knowing there are about 6 billion people walking on this planet and there is not one person for you. This of course joined with self-pity leads to disastrous effects.

I have heard that in some parts of the world people have resorted to befriending dogs, cats and other domestic animals to overcome loneliness, and in a few other places people are resorting to pet rocks whom they care for as their babies and talk their hearts out to them. I can't imagine how worse life could get for these people. Is it their mistake or their circumstance that they can't find a single person to talk to when there is no scarcity for humans in this world?

There are a few ways we could avoid loneliness even if we cannot make another person be with us during our low days. Diaries are best companions, which can take just about anything that we have to say to it. There is no fear of hurting it or boring it with our words. It is a good listener for people who are not lazy to pick up a pen and write down. Books come next, which have infinite knowledge to provide us. Drowning in a novel is one of the best ways to forget the world around for a while and live in an imaginary world. The Internet is probably another great invention to avoid solitude. If books can give us infinite knowledge, then the Internet can give infinite to the power infinite knowledge in a fraction of the time. Hobbies are also good ways to distract ourselves and keep us busy in a constructive way. Indulging in sports is yet another way to avoid a feeling of loneliness.

Some people claim that they prefer solitude to being in someone's company. It is understandable that everybody needs their space, but at the same time it is unfathomable to be alone at all times. Makes me wonder how such people could survive the silence and the emptiness. I am not sure if I would call it a talent or a disease to live alone. But, I would never blame them because hasn't it become a way of life in such a fast-paced world to meet so many people and yet to not know them. As the saying goes -
"In cities no one is quiet but many are lonely.
In the country, people are quiet but few are lonely."
How true...