Ever Felt????

Ever been lonely in a crowded room??....ever felt that the world is indeed a very lonely place to be??....ever felt that the silence of the night is stifling your very being??.....ever felt the despair of not having a friend around to support you??....ever felt the need to have a shoulder to lean on and cry your heart out??......ever felt the urge to quit and breakdown??
The darkest of the feelings...the most frightening glimpses of life.....these are those moments of absolute loneliness...those moments when a person indeed loses hope....starts questioning his/her very existence..their purpose in life....these moments are never discussed.....they are forever hidden in the darkest closets....they are never revealed....never shared.....just experienced....and suffered......
I thought I knew..what it felt to be at the pit bottom.....what it felt when you just lost the biggest race of life.....when a dream shattered.....when a friend betrayed....or to put it simply....when life was at its low......I thought I mastered it...that I could handle despair and failure...rejection and betrayal...that I learned the hard way the lesson of life...that I learnt the much needed art of survival......True...I did master it...I did learn to take the setbacks in my stride and bounce back everytime with a vengence.....I learnt to fight it out......
But I was so naive.....
I did not do it all alone.....I had solid support throughout....my parents...my friends....they where there throughout my ordeal.....they were there to lend me a hand...the much needed word of comfort....the push, when the journey was too hard....the boost of confidence when the spirits were low...the shoulder to lean on when troubled.....they suffered along with me..trying their best to appease my pain.....ALAS!!!!....I failed to realise it.....I was naive enough to believe that it was I who battled my demons single-handedly and triumphed.....I believed it to be my victory against my demons....My Own Victory!!!
And when the first pang of loneliness struck me....I was caught unawares......the force of the blow sent me reeling with shock.....all the so called setbacks in life seemed worthless.....it was the worst nightmare ever.....the feeling of loneliness.....of being alone in a crowded place...of having to walk through the dark alleys of life alone...of not having a person to share the thoughts and feelings without any catch....of stiffling your aspirations and dreams because there is no one around to share them.....of hiding your tears and putting up a brave front..when deep inside you are tormented by waves of grief.....of trying to figure out..when was the last time..you actually smiled....of being just ALONE
It was then that I realised the importance of all those people in my life...who where there with me through all those testing times....who stood by me....all I can say now is thank you.....even this seems too shallow a word to express my gratitude for being there for me when I needed you the most........THANK YOU......Its just that I realised a tad bit late the importance of having you people in my life....