Being the only child, I have often been asked if I ever got bored being by myself while growing up.

And now that I think about it, with both parents working, I did spend a lot of time by myself. The Hardy Boys and Harry Potter helped me out quite a bit by keeping the boredom at bay, and if not reading, I would spend my time building my Hot Wheels collection or playing with my friends. Before I knew it, I had become comfortable with being by myself.

I think it is one of the most important skills one needs to develop to live a truly happy life – the ability to be happy in just your own company. Because people will come and people will leave too, and by the end of it all, it will just be you. You need to learn to be fine with that. You need to make sure you are fine with that. You might have a lot of friends, family, and might possibly have a serious relationship too, but who’s to say how long all of that might last?

The only relationship that comes with a lifetime guarantee is the one you have with yourself, and that is why it is so important to thrive in your own company.

I often come across instances where “being lonely” and “being alone” are mixed up together. While I do agree that they are on similar tangents and that being alone does cross paths with being lonely on certain occasions, but there also exists a beautiful difference between them that, according to me, is not brought to the forefront as often as it should be. People need to know the difference to embrace the difference.

While loneliness is a state of mind, being alone is nothing but a physical manifestation, a state of being, if you may.

Loneliness is that proverbial “hole” in your life that cannot be filled, no matter how hard you try. It is the thoughts you get when you are up long after the last person has slept, lying in bed thinking “why me?” Loneliness is that one song that used to be on top of the “Most Played” list and is now skipped almost immediately whenever it pops up. Loneliness comes with a lot of baggage and a lot of negative connotations while being alone does not necessarily need to mean that.

n the contrary, being alone is a totally different ballgame. Being alone is making time for yourself and for the things you never got around to doing. Being alone is perfecting that one elusive recipe, and it is finishing that unfinished book that has been collecting dust for quite a while. Being alone might be doing things by yourself, but more importantly, it is doing things for yourself.

I like traveling by myself; I enjoy it quite a lot, in fact. I like being in charge of my own itinerary, not having to wait for anyone, going about everything at my own pace. I like just wandering about on my own, listening to my music, not caring about anything else. Does any of that make me lonely? If you have been reading carefully till now, you already know the answer to that. It does not.

If you are comfortable in being with yourself, no extent of being alone can make you feel lonely.

For me, at least, being alone has been quite empowering at times. It has given me the chance to figure myself out, sort myself, and has given me the opportunity to better myself. I suggest everyone to try being alone, to try and find themselves in themselves and in no one else. Being alone, and that too happily, is an art; you need to learn to master it.