Being Alone and Being Lonely Aren’t the Same Thing

Solitude has become a dirty word, loaded with shame and stigma

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Growing up, my best friend was a book.

I’m being totally candid when I tell you that I almost always had a paperback in one of my back pockets. When I found some downtime, I’d pull it out and read. When there was some alone time, yep, I’d read.

Whenever I cracked a cover, I’d find myself transported by words.

To some folks, I was a loner. And I suppose they wouldn’t be too far off the mark. But to others, I came off not as a loner but as lonely. One person even said I might have coping issues and probably couldn’t make friends.

But they couldn’t be further from the truth.

The truth is they made assumptions based on their life experiences and tried to fit me into their warped little boxes.

You see, being alone and being lonely are dramatically different things. And I was never either. I had plenty of real-life friends. I just preferred the paper ones.

I dunno if this resonates with you, or maybe you know someone like this, but people who relish alone time are all around us.

If you ask a super busy single dad who is a father of three, there’s probably not…