Have you ever found yourself to be lonely? Why and how did you deal with it?
When I saw this prompt, I thought it was so apt for my current life. Most of the time, I am by myself. I have a small social circle, so other than spending time with family and loved ones and friends, that's about it. Maybe one could add in colleagues at work, but I am not that chatty in the workplace as I like to mind my own business.
So back to the question, my answer would be I used to be feel lonely at times, but these days (as I grew older), I would say I never feel lonely. That's because loneliness is a state of mind.
How so?
In my view, one only feels lonely when you allow yourself to think like that. It has nothing to do with being alone. Do you feel lonely when you are reading an thrilling novel alone? Do you feel lonely when you are watching a Taylor Swift or Blackpink concert alone? Likely not, because you are so deeply engrossed in the activity and enjoying the moment.
So my point is, whenever you are alone, you can always find activities you enjoy doing and spend time on them. If you are doing something that you enjoy doing, I don't think your mind make you feel lonely. For me, it could be exercising to improve my own fitness, or just writing and engaging with others on Hive, or catch up on what's happening in the world just to stay updated.
After some time, your mind will be conditioned and won't not associate being alone as feeling lonely, because you are having fun during your "me time". I am not sure if this count as "dealing with it", but to me, it's more about reframing the situation and reposition one's perspective.
Ending the post with a photograph of my lunch during a solo activity. Because it's the weekend, I set out to try a new cafe/restaurant (just for a fresh experience) and I settled on this one. Even though the food was average, I enjoyed the ambience, and sat there for about one hour, just people watching, and playing some games on my phone. And I didn't feel lonely at all! :P
Alright that's all I have for this weekend!