Outracing Loneliness

I love poetry. Some poets touch my heart more deeply than others.... or maybe it's just the timing of reading the poem. I've been focused lately on the concepts of aloneness and loneliness and solitude. Naomi Shihab Nye magnificently captures that sense of loneliness stalking you or surrounding you as you travel through the day. With a passing comment from an unnamed, unknown roller-skater, a new thought emerges: What if you could outrace loneliness? What if there was a way to skate or pedal or ski or run fast enough to leave it in the dust? Then what? Your own personal loneliness gets left in the dust ~ "panting behind you on some street corner" ~ while you have the incredible opportunity to "float free" of it.

When loneliness hits me most closely, I want to remember this poem ~ to feel/sense/taste/see loneliness falling behind ~ as I move as quickly as I can, in whatever way I can, in the direction of freedom. I can outrace that sense of loss that permeates the word loneliness. It has no real power over me unless I choose to hand it over.

Do you feel lonely? How does it affect you? Can you imagine a way to outrace it? Practice that the next time it tries to disturb your peace!