Just what is loneliness?

There's so much written about Loneliness but I think that it sometimes confused with being alone. There is a world of difference. I have been lonely on a crowded dance floor and yet have experienced contentment, self reflection and healing while being alone-in my own space with my own thoughts. It took me a long time to understand the value of aloneness, but now mastered, loneliness rarely occurs for me. Below: Carole at Lands End- alone at the very end of Great Britain .