A lot of us believe that to be alone is to be lonely, when these two terms mean very different things. In this article, I want to touch on the point of view that Osho, a very insightful and interesting author, brought to light the fact that “aloneness is our very nature, yet we are not aware of it.”
What is Loneliness and Aloneness?
As individuals, we strive to find people to connect with and to have a social life or a work life – anything for us to not stay alone. However, what we do not often notice and what Osho so courageously points out, is that we are so afraid of staying alone that we do not notice what a beautiful thing it is to dig deep within ourselves, love ourselves, and understand ourselves. That is what it means to be alone.
“Loneliness is misunderstood aloneness,” according to Osho. Because of this, our loneliness becomes unlivable, sad, dark, and purely negative.
Loneliness, or what is misunderstood as aloneness, is one end of a coin – a negative and sad coin. Aloneness, the other side of a coin, is being enlightened and at peace to open up your thoughts with courage, as well as discover yourself.
How is aloneness our very nature without our knowledge?
A lot of us are terrified of the prospects of staying alone. Many of us are afraid of staying alone with our thoughts, yet we do not take into consideration that “we are born alone, we live alone, and we die alone.” We are alone without even knowing it, and because of this lack of knowledge of our aloneness, we become lonely, hoping to find a companion to make our lives less lonely and dull. However, what Osho brings forth is the fact that we should look at the bigger picture. Instead of thinking that our lives may be over if we do not have someone to talk to, we should strive to look within and to understand that we have always been alone – and that is in no way a bad thing.