I walk alone...

Like a cliched dialog from a hindi film, a person comes into this world alone and goes from this world all alone. Then why is living alone through the years of our life considered difficult. Perhaps that is because we are inculcated with the idea that man is a social animal right from our school days. Hence we always feel good when we have people around us to share our joys and sorrows. But we tend to forget that school also taught us another fact that man is the most adaptable animal. We have been used to living in groups and in the company of others. So when you do have to live alone, its a little difficult at first but one gets used to it after some time since we adapt. What some people think to be painful loneliness can infact be solitude bliss in disguise.

Solitude and loneliness are two faces of the same coin, as different as head and tails yet part of the same existence. It is up to each person to convert their loneliness into solitude that you will enjoy. Each person has his/her own hobbies that generally take a back seat when we are in a group. Being alone is the perfect time to take a dig at all those things. For me its an opportunity to learn playing the guitar, or sing (as out of tune it might be) and record my songs or work the hell out in the gym. These are things which generally take a backseat when I am in a group and by doing them it makes me happy as I get some me time.

From personal experience I know parents always want their children to settle down so that their children do not have to face this big bad world all alone. But what really is being alone? Why would this loneliness be cured by the so called life partner? Does this mean that all those friends we have dont mean anything? Definitely all of our friends have their own lives on a parallel track and we cant expect them to be with us 24 x 7. But they play a huge part in us not being lonely. Also who is to say that living with another person will cure your loneliness. You could be just as lonely then as a person living alone. Infact the second style of loneliness is worse if you ask me. It would be wonderful to share your life, the ups, the downs and the works with another person. But it is of utmost importance that you should want from within to do so and not just because you dont want to stay alone.

Each person in this world is alone. It is you who has to figure out the wordly problems that you face. You might get help from others but in the end you have to dig within yourself to find a solution. It is when you start to find solutions within yourself you will find happiness. If your happiness depends on being around someone then you will probably end up never being happy as you will always miss something or the other. If you find ways to be happy with yourself then I guess you would end up making the people around you happy as well.

Ofcourse by saying all of this I do not mean that we should lock ourselves in a room and never mingle with other people. Prolonged living alone has its own disadvantages as well which we need to keep in mind and avoid doing as much as possible. The most obvious characteristic is that a person can tend to become self centered without a care for the world. Meeting different people and interacting with them teaches us many things and helps us to discover our character. If you are not a people person then you should try to improve your skills by talking to different people, and more importantly trying to be a good listener. 

In the end, being alone is not as bad as often its put out to be. It has its own perks. Every once in a while it is good to spend some alone time and rejuvinate/ rediscover ourselves to go back in this world a happier person.