Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Choose to be alone

By Shirley-Joy Barrow
Wanganui Midweek·
18 Feb, 2020 03:02 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

"We are old companions, more intimate than lovers." K&W Gear

It was great last week to celebrate the marriage of a wonderful crazy couple and their family and friends on a beautiful sunny day at the lake.
Although both said they didn't want a fuss, at the time of their commitment
to each other in this public place as people wandered by, they were excited yet calm. This was not new territory to them as they had been companions for over a decade. CS Lewis once said, "Those who are enjoying something, or suffering something, together, are companions. Those who enjoy or suffer one another are not." There is wisdom in his words and what I saw in these two people was a journey where whatever came towards them would be faced together with conversation and laughter. I wish them well in their next decade together.

These days on my journey to enlightenment, I better understand that we all have our imperfections and what I look for now is more about the person's direction. If a person is moving in a direction similar to mine, then we can travel together for a time. More and more, I dare to be around people stronger than me, for I believe that in time I will gain strength by this; and I know that it is so much better than joining company with people who are weaker than me. In times past I have found that I weaken myself when I am around people weaker or less sure of their direction than me.

My Angels encourage me that it is not essential to find a good companion to walk with me, and that it is all right to walk alone. They say it is better to be alone than to be with those people who might hamper my progress. There is great wisdom in silence, taking time to walk or sit alone.

Pythagoras says, "Friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aid each other to persevere on the road to a happier life", and persevere we shall, you and me and those wonderful people we choose to be around. Not forgetting a balance and a choice to have that wonderful sense of oneness being alone can bring. Arohanui.
Shirley-Joy

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Ngāti Rangi’s whānau housing push

17 Jun 03:02 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Major North Island farming business appoints new boss

16 Jun 09:12 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Family escapes devastating house fire as community rallies support

16 Jun 06:08 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Ngāti Rangi’s whānau housing push

Ngāti Rangi’s whānau housing push

17 Jun 03:02 AM

'This is an iwi-led solution – an investment in ourselves and our communities.'

Major North Island farming business appoints new boss

Major North Island farming business appoints new boss

16 Jun 09:12 PM
Family escapes devastating house fire as community rallies support

Family escapes devastating house fire as community rallies support

16 Jun 06:08 PM
Whanganui East gains new GP clinic

Whanganui East gains new GP clinic

16 Jun 06:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP