“Yes, they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness, But it’s better than drinkin’ alone”
These words were written by Billy Joel in his classic song The Piano Man. But what can they teach us?
There is Loneliness, and then there is Aloneness.
When someone is lonely, they can go to the bar and be with others. But then there is Aloneness. Loneliness can be shared, but Aloneness can’t. When we get home from the bar, then we are alone, and that is hellish.
When we feel alone in the world, we can’t function as healthy humans. Even our immune system shuts down.
There’s only one way to avoid Aloneness. That is intimacy.
Today there are many who feel alone even though they are happily married. They like each other, they are attracted to each other, but the intimacy is missing and therefore they both feel alone. Intimacy is the only thing that can make a person not Alone.
Unfortunately we have lost the art of intimacy.
