Solitude, part II

So to continue the theme of loneliness/isolation, I got to thinking. How much worse could it be?

Of course, it can always be worse. I could be homeless, I could be sick with a terminal illness. I could be left without family.

I think what would be worst, however, is growing old, and witnessing your friends and family die around you, one by one, until you are left by yourself. It can get even worse if you had no children and no nieces or nephews.

I know Andy would say that you just have to go out and make the effort to reach out, and then you could make new friends. But would that be right, at, say age 80 or 90? I think that would in a way almost be selfish to make friends, because your time is almost certainly running out. Then you would be causing others grief.

In any case, I've always found that trying to make friends seems contrived. True friends are never made that way. That's not to say that I don't understand the value of just getting out and doing things that you enjoy. It's just harder to enjoy at first when you're still new and don't know anyone.

So where was "Solitude, part I"? I don't care.