My world is so small now

Always be a friend
rather than have a friend.
It takes just one friend
to feel less isolated.

“I feel like my big busy life
has fallen in on itself.”

Loneliness has always been
a shapeless slippery part
of the human psyche.

Far from being a rare
and curious circumstance,
loneliness is
the universal human experience.

Left to its own devices,
loneliness will invade the space
adjacent to depression - not quite as consuming
but with all the familiar footholds.

“I used to love being alone but now
there’s too much time alone.
I feel the great weight of loneliness.
It’s something very private.”

Being alone is not the same experience
as feeling alone.

“I think my loneliness is
a product of looking at myself and wondering
if I’m worthy of love.”

It’s hard to categorise
and even harder to confess to.

The warning light reminding us
that we are alive but not thriving.

Anyhow, grapefruit,
sprinkled with crushed up antidepressants,
tastes like bitter disappointment.

My thanks and acknowledgement to Ros Thomas and the article ‘All by myself’ for the inspiration for his piece.

Dream intentionally - while you’re awake.

A salient quote lifted directly from Thomas’ article:

‘adolescents are in a mental health crisis,
and the current generation of teens
are on track to become
the loneliest generation in human history’