Loneliness

There is a song by John Prine which explores the intensity of loneliness like few others that I have heard.  It is called "Hello In There".  The lyrics of the chorus are compelling:

Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger,

And old rivers grow wilder ev'ry day.

Old people just grow lonesome

Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello."

Loneliness is certainly not experienced only by the elderly. We all know how it feels.  It is a sense that we are cut off from the rest of the world. Loneliness is unchosen and unwanted solitude which can lead to depression and hopelessness.  It becomes intolerable.

We may be tempted to feel that our bond of belonging has shredded or snapped after a painful rejection or a loved one’s death. Our heart breaks and we feel ourselves falling into a vastness too frightening to enter. There is a fear that the love we have lost came only from that source.

The truth is that we have always belonged to something greater than ourselves. We have always been loved. 

Loneliness disappears when we begin to accept each sorrow as a part of life that will come and go. It will leave us when we extend our hand to another. We will become connected by exploring new alternatives and paths to relationships.  Always remember that you are fully loved at all times and in all places.  It extends beyond the difficulties of here and now or the limits of time and space.

So if you're walking down the street sometime

And spot some hollow ancient eyes,

Please don't just pass 'em by and stare

As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"