Lonely and Loner

Being lonely and being a loner are two different things. People often seem to confuse between the two. I am accused of being one, but I am the other.

Lonely is defined as "feeling sad or depressed due to the lack of human (or otherwise?) company". A loner is not a person who feels lonely. A loner is a person who "prefers not to associate with other people", a person who likes to be alone.

Feeling lonely is not good. If a person feels lonely, they can get depressed and disturbed. When feeling lonely, a person must seek help and companionship from the "near and dear ones". 

I am often seen as being lonely. No, I am not. I am a loner. I rather prefer the term the "lone wolf" or the "solitary tiger". Yes, its just one of those romantic ideas I have about myself.

But when I say that I am a loner, I dont mean that I shun human companionship. Not completely, at least. I have a set of people with whom I feel comfortable. Let us use the ironic phrase, "pack of lone wolves".

You could also use the term "anti-social", but it is rather negative. Anti-social has two meanings, one is the terrorists, drug dealers and pimps that came to your mind when i said "anti-social". The other means people who actively try to reject companionship.

I like being alone, but I like the company of the people i like too. It's recommended that everybody spend sometime "alone with themselves" (another ironic phrase). You might learn and understand a lot about yourself. Oh, and yes, it involves a lot of thinking. Which can never be too bad.