Someone I know passed away very recently.

Their partner is still grieving and confided in me that they felt so alone. Not lonely, but alone.

I was curious about loneliness and alone, so researched a little.   Here’s what I found…

Loneliness can be described as a state of mind. It is a lack, a feeling that something is missing, a pain, a depression, a need, an incompleteness, an absence.

If you are feeling lonely it means that, even if you are with other people, you are missing something or someone. Somehow, you feel empty inside.  I suspect this is what my friend experienced.

On the other hand, being alone means you are without company, isolated.  It is a state of being – you are alone.

‘Aloneness’ can be presence, fullness, a sense of being alive, joy of being. You are complete. Nobody and nothing is needed. You are enough.