Loneliness is odd in its nature. Typically, emotion fills, it invades, it floods. But loneliness does not. Loneliness is the absence of feeling, the absence of another. But how is it possible to feel lonely in a crowded room? To answer that question, one must first define loneliness and what it is to be alone. Is it a feeling or a state of being? If you aren’t physically alone, can you still be lonely? You know the answer if you’ve ever felt alone surrounded by people.

In truth, it all depends on your definition of what it means to be lonely and alone. To keep things broad, let’s start with this: the dictionary definition of loneliness is “sadness because one has no friends or company.” So, according to the internet, loneliness is defined by one’s physical presence, not by mental state. But the machine in front of you only knows so much depth. It cannot define loneliness. Emptiness only exists when there is something to compare it to. A computer has never experienced, never felt, empty. It doesn’t understand that loneliness doesn’t just evoke sadness, it is a feeling in and of itself. 

I’m not here to tell you what to believe about your own feelings. Frankly, I am not qualified to. But sit on this for a while: if you are capable of feeling in the presence of people, can you feel empty with them too?

*Featured image is original, created on Canva.