Aloneness

A small free write from today.

5/16/13

           There is something terrifying about knowing that you will soon be utterly alone in an unfamiliar place. And there is also something deeply freeing. Rachel Corrie, a twenty-three year old American activist who was killed in Palestine once wrote, “We are all born and, someday, we’ll all die. Most likely, to some degree, alone. But what if our aloneness isn’t a tragedy? What if our aloneness is what allows us to speak the truth without being afraid? What if our aloneness is what allows us to adventure, to experience the world as a dynamic presence; as a changeable, interactive thing?” As someone who is very used to being alone, her words resonate with me and I hold them close to my heart. It gives meaning to the moments when aloneness slips slowly and almost unnoticeably into loneliness. It takes those moments and injects them with excitement and adrenaline. And so, as I prepare to set out on my own, I take heart that I am not the first—nor will I be the last—to travel this world alone. And yet, as I gaze at strangers’ faces near me on the train, am I alone? Or is alone an illusion that we subscribe to because we forget the fact that we are right here, right now, together in this moment, and there is an unspoken bond that binds us to each other?

Clover leaf from Ireland. Figured I needed one, even if it doesn't have four leaves.