Simply Alone

                          Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.

The trivial round, the common task,
  Would furnish all we ought to ask;
  Room to deny ourselves; a road
  To bring us, daily, nearer God.
J. KEBLE

During this whole coronavirus sheltering in place, I have found myself almost envying others as they remained on lockdown. I am a homebody and even as a child, I was perfectly happy to sit staring out the window instead of venturing out. Don't worry, I have come to terms with the acceptance of my essential worker status.

This morning, I was fortunate to correspond with a few of my family members who are on lockdown. They all professed their longing for the normalcy of everyday, boring, routine life. They totally felt as if their existence has been placed on hold and anxiety ran high. Surprisingly, even the homebodies had enough.

I was fascinated by that, because the more I thought about it, the more I realized just how flawed my way of thinking had been on this subject. It's easy for me to say how much I would love the seclusion, the quiet, the time to myself. So easy to make declarations of all the things I would have done. So easy to speak without thinking, but honestly, have I ever been alone?

Have I ever been alone?

Never. I have stated many times about my deep desire to go off into seclusion for a whole Season. Yes, I have shared how I just could not wait to be by myself. When the day comes for my youngest to leave the nest, could I really face being alone?

This social distancing is proving to everyone just how much we need each other. We all need human contact, that interaction of everyday life with someone else. I remember watching the show "Alone" on television. The contestants were placed on a deserted island, each one in a different location. They had to use their skill as a survivalist to outlast each other the longest. They each had amazing skills like building a canoe, but one thing defeated them one by one . . . loneliness. Staying out in the wilderness all by themselves with absolute no human contact was too much for them.

I think that we all have that longing inside of us. We may deny it (like me), but we can't function properly alone. People need people. That's just a fact of life.

Have a blessed day everyone.