While, I was away, I recently got tagged for two different “challenges”. And as I thought about it, I thought I could combine the two into one post. This isn’t me trying to slack off, but I do think that they can relate.

He asks, “Does this picture resonate with you at all? For instance, have you ever felt you looked at things differently from other people…that a part of you was alone in the universe? If so, what was your reaction? Were you frightened… depressed… exhilarated… lonely? What did you do?”

Well, I think most people reading this blog know that I value being able to “look at things differently from other people”. But yes, on the other hand, it can be a daunting prospect. Sometimes, you do feel alone.

After looking at the photo for a while, I started trying to think differently about it. If you read this blog, you should know, it’s kind of a normal thing for me to do that. So it basically evolved into the second challenge: The Think Different Challenge, started by Peter. I was tagged by Peter himself, as well as Tristan Loo (links to their posts on the challenge – check them out).

So, back to topic. Look at the photo, what do you see? At first glance, yes, I notice the loneliness and all. But thinking differently about it, I started focusing on the space around, and just the environment. And I think that’s the key to overcoming the loneliness.

From my own life, quitting school was one of the major things. After quitting, I was a lot less involved in the social circle of my peers for obvious reasons. It’s harder to keep in touch, we see each other less, etc. And it did make me feel lonely. But over time, I’ve met new people and formed new relationships. The freedom opened up a new circle, and that really helped to overcome the loneliness.

Yes, in the picture, the astronaut might be alone. But it’s because of where he is, isn’t it? He could easily be among the others, in the crowd, if he’s down, on earth. But he’s not. He’s up, above the earth. Up in space. And that’s why he’s alone. If you think about it, there’s so much opportunity there. There’s so much space around him. So much to explore. So much opportunity to bring others up to where he is. And that vast opportunity is what we should be focusing on.

What’s my point? That maybe loneliness isn’t that bad. Loneliness probably means you’re at a place where others aren’t. So you have the opportunity to bring them there. And you have the opportunity to be the first.

And that’s also my suggestions for overcoming it. See it as an opportunity. An opportunity to explore the unknown – to make new friends or meet new people. An opportunity to bring your old friends up to where you are and expose them to a new, different experience.

I don’t really know who to tag on this, so if you’re interested, just consider yourself tagged by me.