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About This Author
My name is Joy, and I love to write.
Why poetry, here? Because poetry uplifts its writer, and if she is lucky enough, her readers, too. Around us, so many objects abound to write about. Once a poet starts with a smallest, most trivial object, he shall discover that his pen will spill out what is most delicate or most majestic hidden inside him. Since the classics sometimes dealt with lofty subjects with a lofty language, a person with poetry in his soul may incline to emulate that. That is understandable. Poetry does that to a person: it enlarges the soul and gives it wings. Yet, to really soar, a poet needs to take off from the ground.
 
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Daily Cascade #1106946 added January 27, 2026 at 2:45pm
Restrictions: None
Alone or Lonely?
"Being alone does not mean you are lonely, and being lonely does not mean you are alone."
John Spence
What are your thoughts on being alone or being lonely?
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This quote made me chuckle as it reminded me of my much earlier experiences. I grew up in a very lively family with many members who lived close-by, and most of the time, our house would be full of family members and friends. If we didn't have guests at the dinner table, my grandmother would feel sad, and she'd weep and say, "We're alone, tonight." Even though four of us sat at the table around her, right at that moment.
Maybe because of being around so many people, I grew a phobia about being alone. Or more likely, the reason might have been all the scary stories I kept reading or listening to about the supernatural and scary stuff. So I developed this fear...so much so that I couldn't stay alone in an empty room to study and do my homework. An adult usually had to sit in that room with me. Then, at nights, I shared a room with my grandmother, also.
Fast forward 60+ years to today, for the last six years, I am now living in a large house all by myself, with my sons checking on me often, and a rare friend or two visiting, every now and then. The miracle is, I am just fine with it. In a nutshell, I found out solitude and loneliness are not the same state of being.
Being alone is a factual condition. It means no other person is physically present. I might be sitting and fooling around on the computer in my quiet place, doing housework, walking in the yard by myself, or spending an evening at home reading, all without company. In these moments, being alone is all right, and I feel contented enough.
Being lonely, however, is an emotional state. I can be lonely in a crowd, from lack of connection, belonging, or understanding. Loneliness is less about the number of people actually being present and more about a lack of meaning. Especially the absence of good relationships can make one feel unloved and insecure.
So, the main difference, I believe, lies in the connection and choice. Being alone can be voluntary; loneliness is unwanted and painful.
This means, if someone is lonely, the solution is not in the number of people with that person. It is in the content. It has to do with the people around with whom a deeper bond, honest talks, and mutual appreciation is missing.
As such, loneliness isn't a personal failure, but it is a need that points to our human nature looking for connection.
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