Loneliness is a bigger thing than I ever imagined. I believe a few of my best friends are suffering from it and don’t want me to know (or don’t know it yet themselves).
Thomas Wolfe wrote in “God’s Lonely Man,” “The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence.”
I can’t write as eloquently as Thomas Wolfe, but I do believe loneliness can be a sneaky devil. At times, when I’m around many people and staying busy with what’s in front of me, I feel a sense of sadness, a lack of connection with others, and I have this vulnerable feeling that I’m alone – behind in meeting the expectations of others and falling short of what I expect from myself.
In my own vernacular, loneliness is feeling hollow, unworthy, and not wanting others to notice.
Thank goodness, I’ve learned how to get out of it. I need to hug those who love me unconditionally. I need to jump into positive self-talk, which some of my friends define as prayer. I need to retrace my journey of self-reflection and celebrate the reasons I think I’m here. I need to reach out to my friends who I sense are lonely and give them a hug before they know what hits them.
In the end, loneliness is powerful and may creep into my future days. Thank goodness I have the perfect antidote.