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    “Lonely people talking to each other can make each other lonelier.”

    Lillian Hellman, The Autumn Garden, via Sunbeams (Page 125)

      Fading moon, follow
My footsteps
Through light unbroken
By land shadows,
And share my senses
That feel the cool
Shoulders of silence.

Only you know
How one side of a moment
Is stretched by loneliness
For miles
To the other edge,
And how much sky
Is in one breath
When time slides backward
From the sand.

      ~ Delia Owens, Where The Crawdads Sing (Page 214)

        “The lonely became larger than she could hold. She wished for someone’s voice, presence, touch, but wished more to protect her heart.”

        Delia Owens, Where The Crawdads Sing (Page 146)

          “A wise man is never less alone than when he is alone.”

          Jonathan Swift, via Sunbeams (Page 93)

            “If you are afraid of loneliness, don’t marry.”

            Anton Chekhov, via Sunbeams (Page 73)

              “At the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with one’s lost self.”

              Brendan Francis, via Sunbeams (Page 65)

                “You try being alone, without any form of distraction, and you will see how quickly you want to get away from yourself and forget what you are. That is why this enormous structure of professional amusement, of automated distraction, is so prominent a part of what we call civilization. If you observe, you will see that people the world over are becoming more and more distracted, increasingly sophisticated and worldly. The multiplication of pleasures, the innumerable books that are being published, the newspaper pages filled with sporting events—surely, all these indicate that we constantly want to be amused. Because we are inwardly empty, dull, mediocre, we use our relationships and our social reforms as a means of escaping from ourselves. I wonder if you have noticed how lonely most people are? And to escape from loneliness we run to temples, churches, or mosques, we dress up and attend social functions, we watch television, listen to the radio, read, and so on… If you inquire a little into boredom you will find that the cause of it is loneliness. It is in order to escape from loneliness that we want to be together, we want to be entertained, to have distractions of every kind: gurus, religious ceremonies, prayers, or the latest novel. Being inwardly lonely we become mere spectators in life; and we can be the players only when we understand loneliness and go beyond it… because beyond it lies the real treasure.”

                J. Krishnamurti, Think On These Things, via Sunbeams (Page 3)

                  “One of the biggest problems in the world today is loneliness. It is quite incredible. The planet is teeming with seven billion people, but people are lonely! If someone enjoys being alone, there is no problem at all. But most people are suffering because of it! They are going through serious psychological problems as a consequence. If you are lonely, it is because you have chosen to become an island unto yourself. It doesn’t have to be this way. ‘I am not responsible’ makes you unwilling to get along with anyone—until you can’t even get along with yourself. It often comes to a point when you believe you are not even responsible for what is happening within yourself!

                  Sadhguru, Inner Engineering (Page 63)

                    “loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself”

                    Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey (Page 153)