Lonely . . .
It seems an epidemic: Loneliness!
For in a world with so much connectivity, we find ourselves living in our own little islands. Isolated. Alone.
The once-loved sound of a telephone ring, who could it be? Now replaced with dread — a telemarketer.
The warm timbre of a loved one’s voice, now replaced (if at all!) by texts and emails, icons and hashtags.
It’s like within so much humanity . . . we’ve lost our humanity.
We’ve become test-tube humans. Sterile. Cold.
Remember the poor little experimental monkeys researchers deprived of a mother, instead feeding through cold tubes. And the life-long psychological damage this lack of touch and love inflict.
It’s like we have become the monkeys. Untouched. Unloved.
Fed with our cold plug-in gadgets, but deprived of the warm hands-on interactions that our human spirits and souls so deeply crave.
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So what can fill that emptiness?
What’s the remedy?
How do we heal a society that’s grown so cold to human interaction?
It must begin with each one of us. In baby steps.
Who can I visit today? Who can I call?
Who can I banter with, here at Starbucks, at the store . . . that stranger there, in line next to me. That member of my big, human, planet-sharing-family, here in the same space/time as me. Breathing the same air . . .
What can I say in attempt to connect?
(See my post, Deep Philosophical Three Minute Conversations)
Some will accept. Smile. Even hug.
Some will shun. Saunter off, unphased.
And yet, I feel, it’s worth the try.
Worth feeling awkward.
Because, sometimes, I manage to get through. To connect.
Sometimes a tender nerve is touched. Kind words are exchanged. Tears flow between our eyes.
Sometimes I make a new friend — some lasting.
And sometimes I seem to shatter the loneliness each one of us silently hides.
And break through to feeling warm.
Human. Again.
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Copyright 2018
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Dawn’s a Life-long Horse Girl — Please visit Dawn’s Horse Blog: Soul Horse Ride :))
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Totally on board with this Dawn. Sometimes a smile and a cheery hello is all it takes to break down the barriers and start building barriers
Sent from my iPad
>
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Wise words to remember as we ramble through out day :))
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Alone together. The intimate relationship between one and all. One of the perennial questions. You have come up with beautiful experiential responses. As always I love your heart and mind felt reflections on being human in our ever changing social life. Thank you.
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Thank you — ah, those perennial questions. They just won’t leave us alone :)) How have you been? I love your writings . . . are you working on a book or some kind of published article? I hope all your Horse wisdom, Life wisdom and Word wisdom is up to something creative these days :)) I’m thinking of attending the American Horse Publications conference again. Have you ever gone? Hunt Valley, Maryland from June 14-16 this year . . .
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Of course this conference has come and gone. I have never heard of it. What is it? Just received this reply via another correspondence. So fun to share our thoughts through written word. Thanks for your kind acknowledgments.
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Hey Dawn💕
Your problem is that you stopped coming to
Molokai.
You’re not alone. You just refuse to
get the daily news from all your friends on Facebook.
We love you.
Why aren’t you here? You’re Choice.
Plus, use the call blocking services for
telemarketers etc. call your providers.
Even easier on cell phones as you can block as many as you want!! I keep a list in my contacts
In categories of their content. It’s a sport!
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Hey Gail :)) Are you back on Molokai??? Missing Bigfoot (may he rest in peace!) the lilikoi and autograph trees and giant spider webs. Walks by the rocks and sea, palm fronds slapping, tropical bird songs, and dinner visit with you and Jeff!!! :))
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Your words brought to mind the quote “Be the change you want to see in the world”.
May we all try a little harder each day.
Best wishes,
Tanja
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Amen! Thank you Tanja — I appreciate your wisdom and friendship :)) One more level of awareness for our To Do list for the day . . .
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We touch heart-to-heart every day, my dear Dawn. Love you.
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Yes!!! Thank you, Patricia, my very real friend :)) :)) :))
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Our ability to be able to constantly and easily communicate, I think, decreased meaningful conversation and increased superficial noise.
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So true . . . Back to basics, once again! :)) :))
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I love this. It’s so hard to push ourselves out there but sometimes we must
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Yes — we can be brave and retro — and go for it :)) :))
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Yes! I think about this all the time
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Yes, loneliness is an epidemic. I enjoyed your post!
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Thanks Connie — Doing my best to beat back loneliness one interaction, one conversation, at a time :))
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I too have noticed the creeping introverted way our society has become. The once active banter in a waiting room or line has now been replaced by everyone checking their phones while they wait. Our heads are done and our mouths are silent. I welcome the surprise of a random comment about a piece of jewelry I’m wearing or a pair of shoes I have on not just for the friendly human contact, but for the hope that someone is actually out there paying attention and taking the time to let someone know that we are still alive and connected, even if only by the combined like of a pair of boots.
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Amen! Let’s keep with the old-fashioned and look up and out of ourselves to interact with the great, vast world, and fellow beings, that surround us :))
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Yes, I totally hear you! And it’s one of the reasons I haven’t got a smartphone as yet as I can see it becoming addictive, and then I’d not interact properly with anyone… But it’s so hard as my kids approach their pre-teens. Some of their friends have smartphones and my eldest child wants one. Not quite sure how to deal with that one! (Apart from putting the decision off for a while longer.)
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Yes! I still flip with my older phone, certain that the “smart” technology is beyond what my old-school mind wants to deal with :)) Best to you in the kid-rearing decision . . . my kids came before the era of phones. But I had them wait til 18 to get a license to drive a car :))
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What’s the difference between being alone and being lonely? Is there a difference?
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I actually love being alone, and have been a “loner” my entire life (it contributes to my sanity :)) Yes — there is a difference. My work: alone, with horses, in a windy field; when I was younger, milking cows in the wee hours, daily, rather than getting a waitress job; living alone in a homemade tipi in a cow pasture; hiking solo in life-threatening backcountry terrain (and surviving!); riding my horses in the dark of night up an 8,000′ mountain. That’s me. Alone, and content.
Lonely is the shift I’ve experienced in how we seem to interact these days (or not) when I come back into port from my alone adventures . . . Starbucks, the market, going to town. I’m doing my darnedest to keep the human element of friendly conversation alive — and I know by my interactions with you, Mike, that you’re up to some version of this too :)) Love your interesting photos and jealous of all the horses you get to see in your life out there in Amish-land :))
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Good post, Dawn! Very inspiring. Although I have to admit I do appreciate my share of alone time every now and then :p
I am not sure if I feel comfortable enough talking to strangers while waiting in line somewhere, but I think I’d like to try and see what happens!
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Give it a try, and let me know :)) Best to you, Samantha :))
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Beautiful post, Dawn, I think you capture a lot of what is the essence of spring ~ sharing in and enjoying the life that begins again, coming out of the loneliness of winter and back into the fun of spring/summer 🙂 Wishing you a great weekend.
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Thank you, Randall :)) Great to see your recent post, and wishing you well this Easter, this fresh new Spring! I think you will enjoy the following :)) Dawn
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You are right about people not connecting like they used to. I live in New Zealand and over here people in general are very friendly so it is easy to start a conversation with someone. People do rely on and use their smartphones too much and don’t notice the world around them.
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:)) Fortunate you — be sure to enjoy the connectivity! :)) Best to you! Dawn
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Thank you Dawn. Take care.
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:)) you too — very best to you.
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Think you’ve nailed it.
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:)) And out to combat the Lonely situation, one spontaneous conversation at a time :)) Thank you — check out this amazing artist’s blog, and listen to the rocking Gypsy Guitar work. Best to you! Dawn
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Really interesting. I’ve said on numerous occasions how I gain so much more out of the connections I make with strangers with shared interests on WordPress than I ever did with “friends” on Facebook…but nothing makes up for actually being with real, touchable friends!
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Yes — and I am so grateful to have found your WordPress blog, Graham, as you keep me connected with my Hawaiian Aloha roots :)) Dawn
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I feel like this all the time. It’s good to see people finally acknowledging it- though the solution to the social drought brought on by #social media seems so far off… I really enjoyed this post. Thanks for sharing. It made me feel a lot less alone, so I’ll be sharing it too ^_^ .
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Good girl — keep the “small”, important interactions alive!!! Thanks for taking the time to comment :)) Dawn
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💗💖💕💞
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Good post
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Thank you! Please tell me how you are overcoming loneliness in your life — Dawn
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Great read. Pretty much spot on. It certainly is representative of what’s happening presently. I by choice, long story, have pretty much been a loner most all of my life. Great blog!
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Thank you Wayne. Loners unite :))
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dwwhite1954@gmail.com
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