Our world is fractured by an epidemic of loneliness. I'm not so worried about the stereotypical recluses and Hermits that we kind of tend to picture when we think of that word. I am more worried about the vast majority of us in this room who are lonely and don't acknowledge it, who may not even recognize it in our lives. You know, we often think, "I can't be lonely. I know more people than I can keep in touch with," and yet we report feeling largely unknown. We know more people than any time in history, and yet we feel very much like we have nobody to confide in. Our social networks just keep growing and growing, and yes, so to our doubts about whether we actually have a safety net and who would be in it should we need it. Modern-day loneliness is not because we need to interact more; it's because we need more intimacy. Case in point, one of my moments of loneliness: I was actually hanging out with five of my closest friends. We had met on a weekly basis, and we had taken a few weeks off for the holiday vacation. We were coming back together and decided to go around the circle and each give a little update on what life had looked like in the last month. When it got to the fourth person, the one right before my turn, she said something that reminded somebody of something they had read, which reminded that person of something that their sister had said over the holiday. You know where this is going - the train left the station, and I had not shared. I remember thinking any minute now one of them is going to say, "Oh wait, we should get back to...
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