Alone: February 20 Lenten Photo-a-Day

Alone. 

When I think about the condition of being alone, it feels darker and more intense than just experiencing a lack of companionship. To be alone is to feel alien and separate, realizing that you are removed from the most fundamental of human experiences. We are social creatures. Our understanding of our own individuality arises out of our recognition that we are separate from others--we need to interact with others before we can achieve an identity of our own. 

There are many ways to photograph the concept of "alone". I could have photographed a single person. A single flower. I had another photo I really liked of a lone flower petal on the sidewalk. But this single leaf on the street after a rainstorm best conveyed that sense of alienation. The leaf is not only separate from other leaves, but it is completely removed from its home, the tree. It is displaced, transported to a hostile environment--an environment lacking color, that is hard and roughly textured. The black frame of moisture surrounding the leaf further isolates it.

Unlike this leaf, we have the power to break free of loneliness. It is up to us to reach out. To other humans. But also to God. We're not really alone, after all. We just believe we are.