Loneliness 2012

FC :Aazar AnisMay 16 2012, 2218 hrs IST

Sometimes, around your mid-20s, you get this strange feeling that the entire world wants you to be alone. There are many causes for the same — a recent heartbreak, losing a family member/pet, or just plain-old work pressure. In these situations, one tends to become a reclusive individual — shrugging off friends and family, swearing off on talking and avoiding just about any sort of human contact. 

One takes solace in loneliness, in the company of computer screens, television or a book, but, there is nothing wrong with that.

When my friends initially went through this phase (and some of them still are), it used to annoy me immensely. And, eventually, I would blame myself for them not wanting to talk to me, instead of just giving them some time to be all right. 

Though I’ve always believed that happiness is only real when shared, I’ve begun to accept and understand that sometimes, one shouldn’t fight loneliness.

 It is like quicksand, the harder you try to get out, the more it will sink you in. In the age of social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and countless other websites, people have become lonelier than they used to be. Like strangers to each other, my cousin brother and I, who, mind you, only have a wall between our rooms, communicate via chat on Gmail for little things now! Needless to say, technology has made us quite lazy.

And, perhaps, in such dire times, when technology is always in our face and doesn’t let us be on our own, it is not such a bad idea to take some time off and enjoy silence and peace. We don’t have to take a vacation for that; we can just try and be happy on our own.

 Take a different route to work, read a book by an author we have never read before, visit some place in our own city that we always put off visiting for some reason or the other or go out for lunch or dinner. 

There are many things to do and discover.

 And who knows? You may surprise yourself.