Here in the year 2024, we, as human beings, have reached the height of known modernity and have access to – and in abundance – countless luxuries and opportunity, fonts of information and knowledge from all known corners of the human experience, and possess the ability to connect with one another that only just a few decades ago was thought only possible in science fiction.
Loneliness ought to be a thing of the past. So why isn’t it?
While existing in such a time of idealized human experience and modern marvels is something we can all thank our lucky stars for to some extent, it can also be said that access to information and worldwide news simultaneously leaves a lot of us feeling overwhelmed in a world endlessly rife with new tragedies and unfortunate occurrences.
For all of the chaos out there, there’s been a recent uptick in media and social spaces urging people to turn inward to find a sense of quietude – urging people to recall the means they’ve always inwardly possessed to combat loneliness.
Loneliness vs. Literature
![Silhouetted hands almost touching. Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com](https://totalapexentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-09-102448-1024x440.png)
Thankfully, for all the discord of worldly events, there are just as many spaces created to serve as an oasis of the mind and heart for people who feel adrift or unmoored. In recent years, there have been numerous studies and reports describing an apparent loneliness epidemic spreading amongst younger demographics, leaving many feeling lost and ungrounded.
One such space that has taken root in service of alleviating these feelings of disconnectedness is in the return to popularity of thought-provoking, soul-searching literature. Books and media have always been an art form designed to tell stories and bring people together in fostering love and shared human experience, so to see these garner attention is quite telling of the times.
Loneliness and Peace between the pages
![A photo I, the author, took myself of the two books by Mitch Albom that I allude to within the article.](https://totalapexentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/nolt4e9D-1024x768.jpg)
Recently, I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, recommended to me by a friend for the aforementioned purpose of quieting the cacophonous noise of the world and turning inward to focus on grounding myself. What lay in wait for me between the pages of the novel was a journey that left me feeling more unburdened than I had in months.
The book follows the journey of a young boy who mounts his own personal journey which begins as a means of acquiring material wealth, but ends with him finding the greatest treasure of all: peace within himself and the power that entails. Through a series of peculiar occurrences, the boy is tried and tested, but through release of control and expectation he finds solace.
Once I finished the book, I was hungry to continue my trek upon a path I didn’t know my own psyche was eager to trek, and I found myself lost in the pages of the five people you meet in heaven and immediately followed with its sequel, the next person you meet in heaven, both by the stellar author Mitch Albom.
Though the stories told are less abstract in the depiction of their tales, the mundane facets of the story act as courtesy veils, meant to easily be lifted and see the truth of the books’ contents underneath.
For example, in the five people you meet in heaven, most of the book’s setting takes place on a rickety old pier amusement park. While the setting is, of course, essential to the story and ties into elements of the protagonist’s development, it is arguably the least important part of the protagonist’s journey of personal enlightenment, despite how entwined it is with his life.
Life Lessons in Literature on Loneliness
I’ve deduced that what each of these books have in common is the central theme of releasing control of expectations and the ceasing of worry and doubt about how one’s life is going and instead simply focusing on enjoying living from moment to moment.
It takes will to simply exist and find contentment in existence, and learning to appreciate each and every part of what makes one’s life uniquely their own is a key to happiness in and of itself. What each of us can stand to learn from enlightenment media varies from person to person, but at its core, it seems the basis of contentment is practicing gratitude for the present moment.
These books have iterated for me truths that I feel each of us knows somewhere deep down, and in so doing, springboards those truths to the forefront and fosters space in my own mind for peace and quietude when the world gets to be too much. And if it does that for me, imagine what it does for thousands of other readers facing the same plights. Imagine what it can do for you.
When You Feel Loneliness, You Aren’t Really Alone.![Sun rays breaking through clouds. The image is meant to instill a sense of light and hope to temper the tone of reading after the hefty topic about loneliness and soul-searching.](https://totalapexentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/hCr209LO-1024x575.jpg)
That stated, there are numerous routes a person can take to escape the discord of the world and find stillness in themselves, but I think there’s something beautiful to be found in the shared connection of finding common ground within such complex feelings of loneliness through books and media of this nature.
It goes to show that there is not one person in existence who is alone in their experience; there is always someone somewhere who understands and relates, no matter how adrift one can feel, and one can always find their way back.
About the Author
My name is Darrion Boone, and I am a writer of both trade and impassioned calling! I express myself through my words and make use of the same to highlight all manner of art and escapism media that speaks to me, and I hope, through my writing, to bring attention to such art deserving of conversation and intrigue.
I cover all manner of video games, movies, poetry, fiction, and more, and it is my hope – in all cases – that my manner of romanticizing content in this way can help others appreciate hidden gems of life they may have yet to see. For more of my work and the work of other amazing writers, check us out at totalapexentertainment.com!