Opus 2011-305, On the Street: You Are Not Alone

We hear a lot about the problem of loneliness.  People abound who seem to have no one to share their lives with, no one who cares. 

At the coffee house this week I saw a person who thought they were alone.  On the counter there are four giant coffee urns.  At the sides are cream, sugar, lids, stirrers and such.  As I went to refill my cup I noticed the extra care that a lady had taken to declare to the world that she was alone, or at least she thought we was the only person in the world.  She had placed a large bag containing her take out purchase to strategically block one end of the counter, keeping me from the urn I wanted to access.  She had placed her cup of coffee in such a way that I could not get to the other spout without going over it and she had placed herself, as she slowly opened a sugar bag, in such a way to deny me the other end of the counter.  It was a perfect block.  It was as if she were the only person in the world.

Yes, many people are lonely.  The reason is they act like they are the only person in the world or at least the only person of consequence.  If so many people suffer from loneliness it seems that they could be matched up by a service like E-Harmony.  Once they were matched they would not be lonely any more.  Sounds simple but most of these people are lonely because they refuse to move out of the center.

Are you lonely?  Try looking around you for someone you can help.  Get out of your little world and find someone worse off than you are.  I don’t think you will need to look far.

Meanwhile, please get out of the way so I can get some coffee.

homo unius libri