Aloneness and loneliness are not the same thing.
As I wrote recently to a dear friend, edited for clarity:
Aloneness is unavoidable, a legitimate suffering, and it alone is already a heavy existential weight for us to bear. 😮💨 But loneliness, I think/suspect, from both psychological and philosophical points of view, is inherently different in its origin, structures and impacts.
Aloneness can turn into loneliness, and that, too, is its own legitimate suffering.
But the dark paths that loneliness can open up and invite us down? Those, I strongly believe, are optional, depending on how we choose to respond to both aloneness and loneliness.
