Or in the immortal words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want..." As a quasi-newish single girl, I am still struggling with loneliness. A lot of us are. Single people, married people, widows and widowers, people with few friends, people with multitudes of friends.
When I talk to many of my friends, I become envious of their lives--husbands, families, houses, babies, whatever. I don't have any of that. Their response is typically the opposite--they want the freedom and autonomy of my life. One is not better than the other, we just want what we don't have. There are issues that a single person faces that a married one doesn't but it goes both ways. I don't have to worry about someone else's schedule, their mood, or what they might want for dinner.
I am struggling to balance loneliness vs. being alone. Loneliness can drag you down, while solitude allows you to pursue those things that bring you joy.
"Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.” ~Paul Tillich
When it boils right down to it, it is okay to be lonely as long as you realize that you are not alone in feeling that way. Being alone opens doors that are made for only one person to go through.
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