I'm rarely alone, unless I shut my office door at work, or in the car travelling to work, and I crave it. I love being by myself. Loneliness is different, though, isn't it? I often feel lonely, and I think for me it's because I feel no one has my back. At the end of the day, I can only rely on myself, and that makes me feel lonely. My mother lives nearby, but her support is limited as she prefers to keep things on a superficial level (e.g. what are you having for dinner, darling?). My closest friend lives a long way away, and as we are both busy mums of teenage sons, we don't talk as often as we'd like. My partner works away for 2 weeks, then home for one, and tired, and is not empathic and doesn't understand how I think.
I'm lucky as I have a few friends close by, but we all do have our own lives. As I get older, I realise how alone we are in this world, and what a lonely place it can be, even if you are surrounded by people.