Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. Mother Teresa

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.
- Mother Teresa

I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.
- Henry David Thoreau

If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
- Jean-Paul Sartre

If I am a legend, then why am I so lonely?
- Judy Garland

Loneliness is not what it seems. One does not feel lonely because one is alone, but because of a feeling of lack - a feeling that something is missing. Loneliness is essentially independent of how many other humans are around. It has much more to do with one's self-esteem - one's sense of inherent worth.

How can people like Henry David Thoreau happily spend months in solitude while Judy Garland and many other famous people feel lonely in the midst of adoring crowds? A good part of the answer lies in how much you like yourself and how confident you feel.

Further reading: Paul Tillich: Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the