Loneliness is a fact of life. Loneliness is not just the result of being alone. It can be felt while with another or with many. Loneliness is the resulting experience of separation from the self. Until you have learned to connect continuously with your essential Self, you are prone to loneliness.
Most deal with loneliness by attempting to escape it through addiction or too much activity. Most do not see loneliness as an opportunity to connect with the Self. Actually, it is. When loneliness comes to you, feel it and see what it is telling you and where it wants to take you. Just be with it. Resist the impulse to escape. Consider this alternative if your first impulse when you feel a twinge of loneliness is to increase the intensity of whatever you are doing. It may not feel as good initially, but it does have potential to bring you a greater sense of well-being. Your loneliness can tell you the right thing to do.
As a child or a teenager you may have had lonely hours and days. You may wish to escape the memory of those uncomfortable feelings. But remember this: you are no longer a child and past conditions are no more. You, as an adult have tools, skills, and insights you didn’t have then. Loneliness then was not helpful or productive. But it can be now.
It may be helpful to explore your loneliness a little more in depth by asking yourself these questions:
- What do I do in order to avoid loneliness?
- Do I secretly view loneliness as unhealthy or as meaning that I am unworthy?
- How can I use loneliness as an opening door to my essential self?
- Am I willing to just sit and feel my loneliness? Am I willing to ask myself to be patient and find out where my loneliness can take me?
- Did I know that my loneliness can be the impetus I need to take some positive action, move on to greater discovery, or invention?
- Have I missed out on being more alive because of my refusal to face and feel my loneliness?
- Am I willing to talk honestly to someone about my loneliness? Am I willing to be real about my feelings and not intellectualize them?
Loneliness can be the creative inspiration that can connect you with your very essence and inspire you to transform yourself and others for the better.