Loneliness is one of the most painful things for humans because we are not meant to live in isolation, we long for another soul to take notice of our lives, to care, rejoice and sorrow alongside us. To carry on conversations pregnant with meaning and trust - this is life giving. This longing doesn’t have to be exclusive to romantic relationships but can be filled by deep friendship too. To go through life without this is unbearable and yet there are times when all of us will be excruciatingly and absolutely alone and we must be able to accept those times too, with some measure of grace and even gratitude at the time it might afford to reflect, to grow, to notice.