Being alone isn’t what makes you feel lonely. Loneliness is having the people, society and community around you and having a deep sense of being excluded from them. Ichiro Kishimi, ‘The Courage to be Disliked’A well respected surgeon was relaxing on his sofa one evening just after arriving home from work. As he was tuning into the evening news, the phone rang. The doctor calmly answered it and heard the familiar voice of a colleague on the other end of the line: "We need a fourth for poker," said the friend. "I'll be right over," whispered the doctor.
As he was putting on his coat, his wife asked, "Is it serious?"
"Oh yes, quite serious," said the doctor gravely. "In fact, three doctors are there already!"