Loneliness Doesn’t Exist

Loneliness is only a coming together of particular circumstances. I was thinking this morning, as I looked through unprocessed winter photos, that as an older man I never feel lonely because as a boy I was accustomed to solitude. I lived in the country. The nearest children my age were miles away. So I often went roaming by myself through field and wood. In the process of growing up, I became involved in all sorts of crowded situations and acclimated myself to those and actually became comfortable around others. Now living in a village by the sea and having gotten used due to Covid to being here most of the time, the mantle of solitude is again largely mine and is as welcome as an old garment that has grown soft and familiar. When taking this picture, I was roaming in my boat among the nearby islands. The ice is “runoff that came to a standstill”, because the soil of the islands is a very thin veil over the granite underneath and lacks the capacity to absorb much precipitation. In the winter this runoff emerges along the exposed rock of the shore and freezes solid, something beautiful to behold as well as understand. I present it here as friend and companion. May all the beings be happy.

25 April 2023
Texas Jim
Hearn Island, Nova Scotia
www.granitecoast.ca