Take A Step Forward To Be With People!
Loneliness has become a silent disease in the modern world, a curse that flourishes under the bright lights and binds people to curate an amiable personality. It is not a complete extinction of the self. But it is wearing away, a smooth, socially acceptable decline of the inner soul. One can be in the middle of a crowd and still experience loneliness and estrangement.
Invisible in a crowd.
This is not the divine loneliness desired by sages. Loneliness is like a forced exile. Human beings are programmed to resonate. Consciousness is inclined toward community. Lose it, and the mind starts to rot. Thoughts go in a loop inside the psyche. Doubts creep in and build a palace out of it. The person turns into an accuser and defendant.
Loneliness is not the same as solitude. Solitude is a productive thing. It is a state of mind where ideas are given space. And in solitude, a person productively evolves. Loneliness, on the other hand, is the feeling of being invisible despite being in view. The self starts to lose its own sense of personality because it is not reciprocated warmly by anyone.
The solution is not any grand gesture or dramatic proclamation. But it lies in boldness. The silent boldness to make a connection. Communication is not about eloquence. But more about presence. A welcoming gesture without any hesitation is what breaks the momentum.
There is no humongous hassle in taking a step forward. It requires presence and patience. Being present means acknowledging and preventing another from sulking through their inner turmoil.
The remedy to this modern disease is in the common practice of being present. Dial the number. Knock on the door. Sit at a table without forcing small talk. Give pauses between lines. Hear with conscious gentleness.
Admitting, if one has been feeling distant, is what brings in change. These subtle confessions and interactions shatter the illusion that emotions must be hidden. When one opens up, they should be treated with care. Once the silence is broken by one voice, the others understand their own repressed language. And resonate in the same tune.
There will be awkward pauses. Stuttered conversations. All these odds do not take away the nobility of initiation. Every effort in this direction is a proclamation that isolation should not be a part of anyone’s life.
We, humans, do not need nonstop spectacle to feel alive. Everybody requires recognition. And it all starts when some individual dares to go beyond the fear of indecision and declare, either verbally or non-verbally – You are not alone, I am here for you.