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The One Emotion we all Fear
and the one emotion we all desire
“I’m afraid of being alone for the rest of my life.” “Just leave me alone.” “I just want to be alone with my thoughts right now.” How is it that we are so fickle with this little emotion of loneliness?
As Edgar Allan Poe famously describes,
“So lovely was the loneliness
Of a wild lake, with black rock bound,
And the tall pines that towered around.”
When I hear those words I am filled with peace. One of my favorite places on earth is nature. There is nothing quite like being in nature alone with your thoughts; it is so peaceful! Just listening to the sound of the whistling wind over a lake, or the swaying pines above. Ahh…the joy is insurmountable! And yet, why can that same loneliness induce such fear and dread?
“Then — ah I would awake
To the terror of the lone lake.”
That same lake that brought peace, is now bringing fear and dread; how can that be? Loneliness is one of the only emotions we both hate and love. No one enjoys being jealous…
