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?
—Jiddu Krishnamurti in Think on These Things
If you can understand loneliness and go beyond it, then you will find there is no need to escape, no urge to be gratified or entertained, for your mind will know a richness that is incorruptible and cannot be destroyed.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti in Think on These Things
We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say—and to feel—'Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought.'
—John Steinbeck
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one
—C. S. Lewis
Fear of being alone is not a good reason to stay. Leaving this man you’ve been with for six years won’t be easy, but you’ll be okay and so will he. The end of your relationship with him will likely also mark the end of an era of your life. In moving into this next era there are going to be things you lose and things you gain. Trust yourself.
—Cheryl Strayed in Tiny Beautiful Things
I had gotten so used to being alone, but never entirely used to it. Never used to it enough to stop wanting the alternative.
—David Levithan in Every You, Every Me
I am a lover without a lover. I am lovely and lonely and I belong deeply to myself.
—Warsan Shire
When you are your own best friend, you don’t endlessly seek out relationships, friendships, and validation from the wrong sources because you realize that the only approval and validation you need is your own.
—Mandy Hale in The Single Woman
I was beginning to suspect that underneath the awkwardness there was just more awkwardness and not much else. And that would explain why I stood in a room full of people and felt like the loneliest girl in the world.
—Sarra Manning in Guitar Girl
I realize, for the first time, how very lonely I’ve been. How comforting the presence of another human being can be.
—Suzanne Collins in The Hunger Games
I keep finding myself stifled by the company of others and then crippled by loneliness when I leave them.
—Veronica Roth in Allegiant
The more we take the welfare of others to heart and work for their benefit, the more benefit we derive for ourselves. This is a fact we can see. And the more selfish we remain and self-centered, the more selfish our way of life is, the lonelier we feel and the more miserable. This is also a fact we can see.
—14th Dalai Lama
Man loves company—even if it is only that of a small burning candle.
—Georg C. Lichtenberg
Maybe love was superstition, a prayer we said to keep the truth of loneliness at bay. I tilted my head back. The stars looked like they were close together, when really they were millions of miles apart. In the end, maybe love just meant longing for something impossibly bright and forever out of reach.
—Leigh Bardugo in Ruin and Rising
Being alone has nothing to do with how many people are around.
—Richard Yates in Revolutionary Road