by Teia Rogers

Created on: July 22, 2009

Starvation, malnutrition, choking to death on whatever stale scrap you managed to locate in the bowels of your pantry. These are some of the risks of remaining single. Relationships are all about food. Partners provide food and nourishment to both the body and the soul. Partners provide sustenance. They give us a way to feel full and satisfied. We are fed information and care by our partners (the good ones) and many of those interactions are accompanied by food.

This is not to say that partnership should only be defined in the domestic sense. Partnership can find itself in friends, co-workers or your fellow bus riders. While others may profess that the long term affects of single life lead to poor health and premature death, a valid argument could be made that George Clooney has never looked better. You can live a single life without living an isolated life. Living in isolation is an environment that breeds serial killers, peeping toms and my 7th grade geometry teacher. There should be a clear distinction between a single life and a lonely life.

Single living can be an experience that brings you profound comfort. Knowing that you can live a life sustained by your own wit and company can be rewarding. It affords you the opportunity to explore your many dimensions and interests. You can practice your sweet dance moves confined only by your imagination and enjoy a favorite meal every day of the week without criticism. This life can be valuable and illuminating.

Comfort in a detached life is precarious. Allowing yourself to live apart from the world is the risk of single life. Getting lost in your own internal mechanics and withdrawing into the canvas will undoubtedly lead you to an unhealthy end. If you've removed yourself from participating in the valuable experience of simply living, you may need to rethink your situation.

We all need affection, care and a good meal from time to time. Without these things we risk losing the most important element to living: Humanity. We lose those essential parts of ourselves. We lose our interpersonal skills and resilience and our ability to nurture others.

If you're living an unhealthy single life, get out there and make some friends. Take up a hobby and get to know the world in a social way. Get to know yourself. There's a whole world out there and the easiest thing to say is Can I buy you lunch? Everyone wants a free lunch and if you can couple that with decent conversation, you're on your way.

If you are enjoying your own time, space and company and want to continue to do so, protect yourself appropriately. Provide yourself with a steady food supply (emotional and consumable) and please learn how to perform the Heimlich on yourself.

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