without someone to share it with?

Some would say "You are never truly alone, for God is always with you." But, being an athiest, I have no divine companion. Others would say "You are never truly alone, Big Brother is watching you." But, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I wear no tin-foil hat. Then how about "You are never truly alone, for you carry the people you care about with you in your memories." This I can believe, yet I have never felt more alone than when I remember someone who I once shared everything with, but never will again. A memory is not a person, and I am truly alone.

if we always settled for something less?

Introspection is undervalued. The quest to map the self is undertaken by few, completed by none. Yet how are we to understand the world without understanding ourselves? How can we place the proper importance on the events and people in our lives without understanding the effects of those events and people on us? What happens when introspection brings us the realization that we've missed our best chance for happiness? Do we hold our chin up high and go in search of second best? Can we devote our lives to number two without getting shat on?

if we were too scared to ever try again?

To a greater or lesser extent we never really love anyone. We love an idea. We love our conception of another person. When that conception is accurate, all is well. Tragedy ensues when a person changes and our conception of them fails to keep pace. How could this happen? How could she do this to me? Because she is no longer the same person she was a year ago. None of us are. I love a ghost.

if the good times were all that we had?

Amazing what wisdom one can glean from a country and western song. Though, it seems with the right frame of mind most any lyrics can be turned into a fitting personal statement. How does my song end? A question no one can answer. All I can do is hope that it's a pop song and not an old Irish ballad.