I hadn’t gone very far
Along the path to my ultimate bliss
When I met a guy.
He appeared quite menacing and intimidating.
So I paused for a long while,
As I contemplated ways of avoiding him.
I thought he was a definite promise of pain and agony;
And I had no desires for that.

In the end, however, I decided to approach him
And take a closer look.
Then I was shocked to discover that,
As menacing and intimidating as he looked,
He was indeed sent as a huge help for my journey;
Someone full of mysterious blessings,
And thus one I needed to embrace and befriend
In order for my journey to be faster and more blissful.

May I introduce you to my new friend:

Loneliness.

I always knew I was going to do lots of pieces on loneliness,
But I thought I would do them
In terms of how I finally cured it.
And in terms of how others can overcome it.
I never saw this coming:
That I would ever describe loneliness
In terms of friendship.

Now I know better.
I can see now that he is one of the best friends,
Of life’s sages, gurus, adventurers, and leaders.
He hasn’t always been my friend, though,
And in retrospect, it seems I’d lived most of my life trying to avoid him.
I thought he was bad news.
What a shame.

A lonely walk:
That’s exactly what the spiritual journey appears like to me.
I am still human here and now.
And thus a social being;
–wanting to experience my journey, my experiences, and my thoughts along with others —
This makes it extremely painful.

But then, since every individual is absolutely unique,
And only very few of them would ever be
Of the same default spiritual preferences as myself,
I realize that for the most part
I must proceed alone.
So the journey is a very lonely one;
And any attempt to do otherwise
Would definitely be fraught with tremendous pains and disappointments.

And this is why, at each point in my journey, I must pause.
And regarding the people in my company, I must ask,
Is my need to share,
And my thirst for companionship,
Driving me to drag others along?
Or is this a genuine case of resonance and mutual interest,
Where, to fulfill their independent aspirations,
I serve merely as a rallying point for my companions?

For, to be souls whose resonance with me,
Is devoid of any undue manipulations from me,
Is my sincere and earnest desire
For my closest companions.
That they would independently possess
The same default spiritual preferences as myself.
Anything else would be burdensome,
And cause unnecessary pains.

Thus I must rise above my need for companionship,
And embrace loneliness
As a part of my own personal cross;
An unavoidable feature of the path to my bliss.
And now I can see that the more I embrace my own loneliness,
Rather than vilifying it,
The more my capacity for higher quality relationships
Is greatly enhanced.
For one who is not in desperate need
Of human companionship —
Of human sharing, acceptance, validation, and assistance —
Realizes a clarity of mind
That sharpens his discernment
In dealing with, and connecting with others.

I am unique.
Therefore loneliness is inevitable.
You see, men would rather celebrate the moonwalker,
Than participate in the torturous mental and emotional training
That precedes a moonwalk.
If my passion is to reach Everest’s peak,
Then I must accept the fact that
I won’t have much ‘normal’ company.

It’s a lonely walk.