Alone…

…is a word I’m well acquainted with, as are many of you who will someday read this.

It’s not the same as lonely. Although loneliness can certainly arise from it.
Being alone is also not the same. The arrival of people may fill the gap of being alone. That arrival, welcome or unwelcome, changes your space, changes the word into something different.

On good days alone can be peace and calm, quiet and rest.

Today, though, I can see that alone can be jagged and sharp in the midst of the crowd.
Alone can be wet and cold.
Alone can be frightening or overwhelming or desperate.

Not to say today does feel that way. No, I don’t mean that at all.

They say there’s always a bright side. I believe I will find it.

The word can also mean Time. Time to bake cookies without looking at the recipe fifty times. Time to gather thoughts from the busy-ness and journal them before they’re lost. Time to ponder truths you may have forgotten to ponder. Time to sit.

See? The bright side always wins.