Aloneness and the Lonely

I am a people watcher from way back. People have always intrigued me. In the age of social media, I think this observation is so much more interesting. I observed an older couple across the restaurant recently waiting for their food. They did not have cell phones. They were not looking down at a screen. They just weren’t looking at each other. They were not conversing. They were just “there”. It made me, a solo diner, a bit sad. I thought about how sometimes it’s hard to be alone so much, but how much more difficult it must be to be with someone and still be alone. I wanted to interject something into their separate aloneness. I wished to see a spark between them. But, perhaps they were happy with that status quo. Perhaps the dinner table was always like that and wasn’t going to ever change. And maybe that is ok. I try to look at things through different lenses at times in order to not make assumptions. I have grown accustomed to my aloneness. I can be totally happy either way. But I would struggle if I was eating with someone and silence was all that I heard. I would rather be alone than be with someone who wasn’t fully present in conversation.

•