Long Trip Alone

I had a friend tell me something one time that has bugged me to this day and made me think, did he really believe what he said? I'm not exactly sure what we were talking about but it had something to do with relationships. His comment was somewhere along the lines of "even if you're with someone you're still alone. You still die alone." I think at the time I was pretty much stunned and couldn't really even come up with a reply. To this day I can't quite put my finger on why this bothers me so much. Well, other than I don't believe it at all. At this time I'm single. There aren't any prospects out there either. I have only a handful of good friends, most of them live in states hundreds of miles away. When I'm not at work I'm home alone. Lonely usually. But the words that my friend spoke conjure up in my mind something darker than just loneliness. I've been in a relationship where my life revolved around the other person. I didn't do anything without considering the other person. My life and her life were one. We weren't alone, we were "all one." We had two lives wrapped together into one. I guess some people would say they'd rather be free to do what they choose but a relationship that's worth anything isn't going to keep you from doing what you want, being who you are. If that's the relationship you're looking at then you've got it all wrong.

But back to my friend's comment. I still can't quite put into words just how sad the comment made me. There's a song called "Long Trip Alone" that makes me think of this conversation with my friend. If you think about the big picture, our lives are pretty short and meaningless unless there are other people in it. I may spend most of my time outside of work alone but I never feel the loneliness that my friend's comment conjured up in my mind. Sure, I'm alone but there are friends out there on this journey with me who will always be there for me. And someday I do hope to find that someone who will take this long trip called life with me. And if not, I'm still not alone. Friends will always cross my path, take my hand and walk with me for a little while. And if life takes that friend away, another comes along to walk with me. And because I still don't feel like I adequately put into words how my friend's comment effected to me, I'll leave you with the words of the song that say it so much better than I can.

DIERKS BENTLEY LYRICS

"Long Trip Alone"

It's a long trip alone over sand and stone
That lie along the road that we all must travel down

So maybe you could walk with me a while
And maybe I could rest beneath your smile
Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold
'Cause it's a long trip alone

It's a short piece of time but just enough to find
A little peace of mind under the sun somewhere

So maybe you could walk with me a while
And maybe I could rest beneath your smile
You know we can't afford to let one moment pass us by
'Cause it's a short piece of time

And I don't know where I'd be without you here
'Cause I'm not really me without you there

Yea Yeah
Yea Yeah oh

So maybe you could walk with me a while
Maybe I could rest beneath your smile
Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold

So maybe you could walk with me a while
Maybe I could rest beneath your smile
Maybe I could feel you right beside me 'til I'm home
'Cause it's a long trip alone