Down the dark cloud...

When I was in school there was a tradition which I followed for sometime, I visited the temple.

On one particular Thursday, I did the normal routine; I noticed something pass-by me. Little effort it took to my intelligence, I found out that it was a funeral mass. While that was not strange, normally funerals had 2 alter boys or more. Then I realized that there was only the usual hand full of regulars. There didn't seem to be anyone from the deceased family.
(I seem to remember that it was an old woman might be wrong)
I stood by to look towards the grave-yard, there were even fewer people there and although I was only a kid aged around 11 – 12, A sadness came upon me because I thought that if there was no one to go to her funeral - was there anyone to visit her when she was alive.

That was about 12 years ago and that memory has stayed with me all this time. While it is an old memory, some thing like loneliness would always spark that memory.

I suppose that most people would think that loneliness mainly affects the elderly and while that is true for the most part I think that it covers any age and gender.

People can feel isolated when they are away from family and friends or from their normal surroundings. e.g. working abroad, studying.

I was listening to a radio programmed about the remote islands once and the topic of being alone came up. This woman that sounded about 50 or so was saying how her husband had died had her daughter, who was married had to leave the island for work and school for the kids. The woman was nearly in tears telling how lonely she was and that her daughter could only come once or twice a year. It would break the hardest or hearts, it brought a tear to my eye.


There is a distinction between loneliness due to emotional isolation and loneliness due to social isolation. Emotional isolation appears in the absence of close emotional attachment whereas social isolation appears in the absence of an engaging social network.

I haven't experienced a twinge of loneliness myself in a long time - but now when I am loaded with a heavy load of sorrows by life and another time out of the blue when I was left by my friend to pursue his dreams. Both lasted long & the latter being stretched.

People’s personality comes into it too. Some are perfectly content to be on their own for long periods of time while others are totally unsuited to it.

What do you think?

I know it is a bit heavy of a topic but some thing to think about?