Sierra

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

Never guessed you were a showtunes fanatic, Voice.

Showtunes? Hell no. I'm singing Liverpool F.C.'s anthem!

Which was a showtune to begin with...

No it wasn't! Pink Floyd used it for one of their songs, that's probably what you're thinking of. Showtune, peff.

Uhh, no. Penned by Rodgers & Hammerstein, this song was featured in...

Never mind. Anyway, you get the point of it, don't you?

That no matter what, I won't be alone in life? You could have accomplished that rather handily without having to torment us with your foul warbling.

What? You don't like my singing?

Oh, of course not. It was truly epic. Yeah. Epic.

Uh huh. Still, it was a good segue into today's topic, eh?

What, the feeling of being alone and how I handle it?

Indeed.

I could have thought of a better way, but I guess I'll run with it for lack of better introduction to the topic.

Aloneness and You, a journey into the mind of me.

It's strange how it works sometimes. I can be surrounded by a crowd and still feel like I'm standing in the corner by myself.

I never quite understood why that is. Perhaps it is a part of my psyche that tells me that I am the only me in the universe and everyone else is not. After all, only I truly know how I feel, what I'm thinking about, how a particular piece of cake tastes to me.

Everyone's tastes, thoughts, opinions differ in some way and you will never find a perfect match. Search all you like, there's no such thing as perfect.

Sure, you may find someone who's close to the ideal as they can get (and Deus help you if you do), but no one wil perfectly fit your notion of the perfect gal/guy. Ever.

In some ways, that's the beauty of being alone. It forces you to look inward as well as out. To maintain a balance of sorts. To meet people, to hear their stories, to share in life's experiences together. A man could spend his entire life talking to himself and never have the chance to reach beyond his nose but a lonely man can change the world.

The feeling of lonliness has crept into my mind of late. Perhaps it is because on one hand, I am surrounded by people who truly love each other and their life and are not afraid to show it. On the other, I am surrounded by those who feel so wronged in life that everything is the fault of myself and others and it is their duty to make all of us miserable. It's a balance of power that gravitates between the negative and positive forces in life, both pulling strong against the bonds of the other.

Alone, lonely, lonliness. Words that mean something, everything or nothing to the individual who bears their weight on his or her shoulders. Some fear it, some embrace it, some don't even realize they are in that state to begin with.

Myself, I am mentally alone and I am OK with it. I spent so many years of my life trying to unconsciously mesh with people who would make me feel less lonely instead of realizing the truth that such tactics are mired in folly and will result in pain.

The worst reason to be with somebody is because they make you feel better about yourself. Being with someone so that you feel better about yourself is a conceit that society pushes upon you in order to justify our fears about being alone. To be alone or different is to go against the Groupthink, the very fabric of subconcious human interaction.

You've heard it ever since you were a kid.

"Only the cool people are on the cheerleading squad."
"Don't hang out with that four-eyed loser. He just sits there by himself all day so he must be a freakazoid."
"Join the congregation, for as a community we are there to serve each other, not ourselves."

I am alone. I've been alone for many years and realizing this no longer bothers me. I am no longer afraid to spend time contemplating life's mysteries and if I never meet the gal who is closest to my ideal lifemate, so be it.

I'm just going to be the best me that I can, one that I can live with and respect. Meanwhile, I shall reach out to others as I've always done but I shall not envy their happiness, nor shall I covet their sense of perfection in life.

There has to be a way to tip the balance. Somehow.

And you'll neeeeever walllk aloooonnnneee!

Beauty, Voice, pure beauty...