Lord Dunsany speaks of “the restlessness of earth,” of the coming and going of men and how they begin to feel lonely. We’ve all been there in that silent place where the walls seem to clamp down and outside is teeming with abundant life.

There is an air to loneliness…grey, restless shadows, the distant beauty of rainbows fading with dawn. A stillness. And yet, it is in being alone we discover ourselves. You can be alone without being lonely.

When was the last time you lay on your back and watched the clouds hurry past? Or sat beneath the willow at the foot of the lake? When last did you walk the shore, shut out the noise of the crowd, and gaze beyond the turquoise sea?

The world seems a pale beauty of itself when we do not stop to see. Sometimes in those lonely places you stop, you behold, you see the moon looking through the thick black night, or the clear stars diving towards the sea, or the plumes of lilies and the sweetness of the air.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The next time you feel lonely, remember you are not alone, then look around and see the signs of life and cast the shadows away.