Are You Lonely?

One Easter Day some time ago, I sat in a small room by myself reading a book in a language I could barely understand. Terrible day by myself. Terrible book. No one to talk to. No one to go anywhere with. Every minute of that day my heart ached for companionship. I will never forget the emptiness and despair I felt.

Does this sound like something you’ve experienced? Do you ever feel completely alone? Are there times when you think no one cares about you? Are others out having fun, being with friends and loved ones while you sit somewhere by yourself wishing?

You’re not alone (no pun intended). Loneliness appears to be a worldwide curse that strikes the rich, the poor, the young, the middle-aged, and the old. It affects peoples of every race and every social status.

Loneliness has many causes. Losing a loved one through death or divorce or other life circumstances can be devastating. If the missing person is a spouse or a close loved one such as a child, the ensuing trauma can lead to depression and other types of emotional illness.

A person may move to a new city, start a new job, or attend a new school. He or she don’t know anyone. For those people who have a hard time making new friends, this loneliness can last too long.

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Physical and mental disabilities can affect people's social status and cause them to be isolated. They often live in loneliness without family and friends.

Being different can cause loneliness. Perhaps one finds himself in a culture he does not understand, and he feels no one understands him. Our religious beliefs and practices, our dress, our career, and our likes and interests can set us apart from others and make it hard for us to connect.

Most of all, they are the different, the persons who feel they don’t fit because of their idiosyncrasies. They are the rejected.

People shun those who are afflicted. Nursing homes and mental hospitals are filled with patients who cannot get out or who do not have the ability to connect with others. One doesn't have to look far on our streets to find the disenfranchised, those who don't have the accommodations and social privileges that most of us enjoy.

Are you among the thousands, probably millions of people who wish they had more friends and more opportunities to get to know people and be with them? Are you looking for that special relationship and don't know where to start?