Lonely. Merriam-Webster's definition of lonely is being without company, cut off from other human beings, not frequented by human beings, sad from being alone. Alone. Separated from others, exclusive of anyone or anything else, considered without reference to any other. These are two labels that people like to use, but one more than the other. The former is used more often to disgruntle others with, or to make them feel bad as a human being. There is a difference between these two words. Sometimes it's good to be alone, with your thoughts, maybe floating down a lazy river, relaxed in a canoe, absorbing the fresh air, the beautiful sky, the birds chirping, the gentle breeze rushing through the leaves of the trees that may be lining the shore. Or maybe your sitting on a mountain side, looking across the valley, taking in the purple sky and amber waves of grain. Being alone is not harmful. Feeling lonely is. If one allows themselves to be depressed and lonely, it is only due to the persecution of others. It is only the wishes of others. It was the wish of my ex-wife that I become lonely. Her initial wish was that I commit suicide. When I did not succumb to that wish, she kidnapped the joys in my life hoping that loneliness would effect me to the point of suicide. I have not allowed that to take place either. Loneliness and being alone are what you make of it. I am never lonely. I never allow myself to become lonely. One should never allow themselves to be lonely. One has friends and one has acquaintances. Friends are those that one can tell secrets to and those secrets will be held tightly and not released to another soul. Acquaintances are those that one socializes with, but when something personal is shared with them, they either use it against you, or they tell ten other people. I have few friends. My first best friend is myself. My second best friend is my current wife, and my third best friends are my dogs. Some of you may be married, yet your wife may not be your best friend. She may only be your acquaintance. Some of you that are married, your spouse is your best friend and that is the was it should be. I never had that with my first wife. She was not even my acquaintance. She was simply someone that could take from me all that she could get without the stigma of being pregnant and unmarried. Since it was my first wife's intention to crush me, I decided I was not going to allow that to happen as described in my book . If I did not find solace in the nightclubs I frequented, I took my vacation that I built up at work, I packed up my backpack, and I hitchhiked. I was alone with my thoughts at how best to approach the world with the rest of what I was allowed by others to have. It was a plan to continue through my life with my best foot forward as they say and accept only the positive energy that the world has to offer. I conversed with different people along the highway. I shared with different walks of life. I compared philosophies.
Today, the one thing I find sad is that our world has changed in such a manner that one cannot even hitchhike anymore without being assaulted by another stranger. I recently had to drive from California to Michigan. In all that distance, I came across only two hitchhikers, both young, and no backpacks. So with caution, I had to leave them on the side of the road because that told me they did not have a place to "be". Hitchhiking used to be fun and "the thing to do". It's not anymore. If one decides to do it, they cannot do it alone. Always travel with partners now. I found hitchhiking to be therapeutic for me and it changed the way I approach the world. One needs to find that approach and don't be afraid to do it alone. There is nothing wrong with being alone. Just don't ever feel lonely.
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