Think About It

Often, when we discuss the issue of loneliness, we typically focus on trying to get people to reach out to the lonely and help them feel welcome in our world.  While this is a noble effort, I would like to take a little different approach.  If we find ourselves being lonely, what can we do?  There are going to be some gregarious people who may never understand what it feels like to be isolated and alone, but there are many of us who have felt like no one notices us much less cares about us.  We might be able to mount a logical argument to dissuade this belief, but the emotional draw of loneliness is strong and often defies reason.  So, what can we do to help us deal with our loneliness?  Here are three suggestions: 1.  Work on our ability to trust others.  Sometimes our isolation is due to our inability to interact with people, but other times it is built upon a lack of trust of others.  We can’t depend upon them, so we stay away from them.  A first step in coming out of the shadows mi…