LIFE
A Requiem for Loneliness
There comes a time when we need to realize that aloneness isn’t a hiding space
“I don’t believe the cure for loneliness is meeting someone, not necessarily. I think it’s about two things: learning how to befriend yourself and understanding that many of the things that seem to afflict us as individuals are in fact a result of larger forces of stigma and exclusion, which can and should be resisted.” ― Olivia Laing, The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone
Once a week, typically on a Tuesday, I get up at 5am and get ready to depart for the city center at 6.45am. Although it takes me approximately 30 minutes to shower and get dressed, I need the extra time to sort my head and bask in the silence of the morning. Looking out the window, I can see the just-risen sun shining softly on the awakening streets, bringing with it a flurry of early-morning activity.
In the privacy of my room, while cuddling my pillows and stretching like a contented, domesticated feline, I visually rehearse the day’s events. I run my fingers through the notes prepared the day before, one page at a time. For a ten-minute boost, I scroll my phone for a few light-hearted memes to center my mood.
