Musings - cont

Today, there's a lot of stuff/ crap to do. its around 0 to -3 degrees where I live, with some snow, and I have earned myself a flat tire 2 nights ago. I had to rely on my friends to get me to work yesterday ( yes, on a Saturday) for my light 11 hour day. Happily, the work was lovely. I have a second car with an electrical short that occurs in cold temps, draining the battery. When I returned home from a trip, I attenpted to take fhat car for a drive and... its dead. Decided to wait to charge that battery. Obviously waited too long. 2 cars owned, 2 cars disabled. So,car maintainence is high on the list. Then, there's a very high profile work event uocoming quickly and the team is not quite ready. That action plan has to be developed, and pray it works. Then, theres always getting the house in order, quite literally. Happily, some friends i have seen just recently and ones i havent seen in months are meeting for some fun and libatiions today. This will be lovely, but i have to get myself moving to get the "have tos" done - but seeing and spending time with these people is a have to also. (side bar : I tell my students this often, that I love the word 'crap'. To me, most everything in the world, in a very reductionist way, is crap....EXCEPT for people. Things are crap - people are not. Thats why being with them is a have to) This is my life and its good - its fine. So, my thoughts on connection are quite high, probably to the point of hypersensitivity. And, of course FB puts something on my feed, which i have to check is accurately accredited, but gave some food for thought today. So, i cheat and am copying that here to consider later. But, this reasonated more than anticipated today: ( and, of course the quick "cooy/paste" failed the OG post i was referring to has disappeared, so I had to quick search its replacement. Short lesson - I may need to read some more Orwell in the near future) LONELY IN A CROWD George Orwell once said: “The most terrible loneliness is not the kind that comes from being alone, but the kind that comes from being misunderstood.” It’s the kind of loneliness that doesn’t come from silence, but from the overwhelming noise of a world that doesn’t truly hear you. You stand in a room full of people, laugh when it’s expected, speak when the moment demands it, and yet, in your heart, you feel invisible. You feel like the truest parts of yourself—the raw, unpolished, and beautifully complex pieces of who you are—go unnoticed, misunderstood, or even ignored. This is a different kind of ache, one that lives deep in the soul. It’s not about missing someone’s presence, but about missing connection, longing for the kind of bond that allows you to feel truly seen. It’s not the absence of love, but the absence of recognition—of being known for all that you are, without needing to filter or edit yourself to fit into someone else’s understanding. To be misunderstood is to feel disconnected. It’s like speaking a language no one around you understands, shouting your truth into the void, hoping someone will hear and respond. Instead, you’re met with blank stares, polite nods, or worse, a misinterpretation of who you are. The world seems to focus only on the surface, skimming over your depths, while you yearn for someone to dive in and swim beside you. In these moments, you may question yourself. You may wonder, “Is there something wrong with me?” or, “Should I change to make others understand?” You might be tempted to reshape yourself to fit their expectations, to dull your edges or brighten your colors. But even then, the loneliness doesn’t fade. Because in trying to conform, you lose pieces of yourself, slowly becoming a shadow of who you once were—a ghost of your former self. The truest ache of loneliness isn’t about being alone; it’s about feeling unseen. To feel truly understood by someone is to experience a connection that goes beyond words." Me: This is not entirely accurate of my persoective, but has some latent truths in there. I sometimes worry of parts of this for myself. And, with no authority or permissions, I sometimes worry of it for others. Then, I try to recall the serenity prayer - the one about accepting the things you cannot change, the courage to change the ones you can and the wisdom to know the difference. Yeah, This post will be one for me to think on for a bit. Now - time to get to work.