Debra-Lynn B. Hook: The personal and universal of modern loneliness
Published in Lifestyles
Two friends take turns on alternating mornings making eggs and toast for me.
They straighten my bed, wash my linens and take out the trash.
They go to the grocery store, fill the bird feeder, water the plants and make lunch and enough food for dinner.
They talk and laugh and share life with me, from 9 to 3.
At which point I am alone.
For two-thirds of the day, until 9 the next morning, there’s no guarantee I will see another human.
Certainly, I will not suffer from lack of food or physical care. Despite health and mobility issues that require this outside help, I am capable when I am alone of getting up and warming the food they made, getting myself to the bathroom and other necessary self care.
What I will suffer from is loneliness.
This is different than being alone. Solitude is an important component of well-being that I relish, a state of peacefulness, psychologists say, allowing for self-reflection without added influence.
Loneliness is another thing, defined as lingering and persistent social isolation, often involuntary, and sometimes even when we are surrounded by people.
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