5.07.2014

Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

Just a note, I posted a controversial piece about race with a bold title that says, hey this may offend you, and what happens?  I get hundreds of views.  LOL - we are all soooo human!  That car wreck? Oh you are gonna look and someone in politics blunders - tuned in to the 5 o'clock news like a regular!  We all go for the bad stuff!!  Why? ...and... Why do I watch Cops Reloaded? I think we all just need a little confirmation that other people have stuff in their lives that is tough just like us.
 
So tonight, a tribute to one of the most popular contributors to weight gain. The negative of negatives. The fear of all and the fate of many - loneliness. How many times has pure loneliness driven me to the pantry in search of what? A hand on mine, a warm and lasting hug, a warm body sitting next to me on the sofa???  And all I found was a bag of stale chips and a can of Rotel!  Believe me, many a night that has carried me through til morning.  But what did it solve? Nothing. Not a darn thing!
 
I am no scholar. But I have learned, there is a part of loneliness that is self imposed. Yes I said it. And I will say it again, there is a part of loneliness that is self imposed. It is a choice.  It is a reluctance to put myself out there where the people are, where the possibilities are, where the chance of getting hurt is and what happens? Reclusive and allusive, I find myself alone.  Well now isn't that a surprise?
 
Then there is a part of loneliness that is circumstantial...take Mother's Day. I am not going home for Mother's Day this year.  I will not see my children or my Mother.  So this shines a light on a new truth, my mothering days have changed.  I am no longer the active, involved mother I once was.  My youngest is on the other side of 21, a junior in college.  I am not needed the way I used to be and guess what? It feels lonely. 
 
Then I read a post from a friend who lost her mom in the tornados of Arkansas several years ago.  The same friend who never had children of her own because she was stricken with cancer at 17. And my own sister who through no fault of her own never had any children.  And though I want to play victim because my kids are grown and I feel the sting, I cannot.  Yeah, I may feel the pang of loneliness but I better not set up residence there. That would insult those women with empty arms who never had the chance to experience the things I have, and those who's mothers were taken too soon as well. Point being, sometimes our circumstances invite loneliness but look around - there is ALWAYS someone who has it worse! Be thankful for what you have and had. This can ward off a host of circumstantial lonelinesses!!!!!
 
And lastly the loneliness of age.  Oh how we fight it, we despise it and curse it but age will creep up on us and some day consume us and with it, the loneliness. To this I say HOGWASH!  I want to fight age and its poisonous grasp every step of the way! Numbers and ages do not mean near as much as activity and relevance! I am the perfect example of this.  August of last year I couldn't walk 20 feet without feeling the pangs of age and weariness.  Now just nine months later I can walk for miles and feel occasionally winded but exhilarated!  With every pound I lose and every new strength I gain I slap Father Time in the face.  Playfully of course - I don't want to ignite his wrath!  He will catch up to me eventually but for now we are like siblings playing cat and mouse. Chase, capture, release.  I always laugh when he thinks he has me trapped but I swiftly dart to my escape!  I'm sure he laughs when he places a new wrinkle or symptom for me to discover....
 
Find the things that make you feel young and vibrant and keep the loneliness of age at bay.  Keep him guessing, that Father Time fellow!  For when he has you for the final count, it truly may be lonely and scary and you just gotta keep moving. And as age does slip in and start to set up house within my life, I try to remember, not to sit back and let it rob me but to rush ahead and cut it off at the pass.  Be the person who sends cards, makes phone calls, keeps in touch - be the friend to others you want them to be to you. Don't wait on others to serve you, serve them while you have the strength. 
 
In closing, a beautiful ballad by a young and popular band, The Band Perry. I love this song.  It reminds me of my youth and all the things I am fighting for in my life.  Don't let me lonely tonight - while I'm young and alive! 
 
That's all ~ Thanks y'all!
 
Don't Let Me Be Lonely
 
I need a saving grace
A hiding place
I don't have forever or time to waste
So don't let me be lonely
I wanna shake this winter coat off my sleeve
Dust off a record and just be free
Oh don't let me be lonely
No don't let me be lonely
When you're young
You can fly
But we trip on clouds 'cause we get too high
We grow up
And then it's gone
Oh God only knows what we'll become
So don't let me be, let me be, let me be lonely tonight
While we're young and alive
Take the keys to my car and the keys to my heart and just drive
Oh don't let me, let me be lonely
Well the night rolls on like a long lost friend
Til the sunrise bleeds like the bitter end
Don't let me be lonely
Well there's nothing to hide and nothing to prove
Give me all that you are
You've got nothing to lose
Just don't let me be lonely
No don't let me be lonely
So don't let me be, let me be, let me be lonely tonight
While we're young and alive
Take the keys to my car and the keys to my heart and just drive
Oh don't let me, let me be lonely
No
Don't let me be
When you're young
Life's a dream
It's a beautiful and a burning thing
We grow up
And then it's gone
But the memory goes on and on and on and on and on and on
Don't let me be, let me be, let me be lonely tonight
While we're young and alive
Take the keys to my car and the keys to my heart and just drive
Oh don't let me, let me be lonely
Don't let me be lonely
The Band Perry - Don't Let Me Be Lonely Lyrics | MetroLyrics

4 comments:

  1. The quickest way to end loneliness is to find other lonely people and keep them company.
    I know what you mean about children growing and not needing us as much....they do, they just need us in a different way. Every step forward into the world will be met with a step towards us...great blog.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Christine! Always means the world to me when you respond to my blog. You have been my inspiration for several years now! Yes - I love that, every step forward into the world will be me with a step toward us! Amen!

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  2. "Find the things that make you feel young and vibrant and keep the loneliness of age at bay. " LOVE THIS! Too many people start narrowing their worlds instead of expanding them.

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