Loneliness

.. .

. Loneliness . I believe that loneliness has become a huge problem in this country, a hidden epidemic, especially among - how can I say this delicately? - those of us of a certain age. It is everywhere. Just take a moment and look around. If you happen to be at a stage of your life surrounded by family and friends, perhaps you are too busy to notice. But walk down any street - city, small town, it doesn't matter. You can't miss it. That elderly gentleman walking ahead of you, more shuffling than walking, shoulders stooped, head down and hands clasped behind his back. Every so often he raises his head scanning oncoming faces. One can almost see that he is hoping, searching for someone familiar. Someone who will stop and shake his hand or pat his shoulder, someone who will chat for a moment, who will laugh with him. But no, there is no one. He is very old. His family, his friends, all are gone. He has out-lived them all. New friends are hard to come by. Everyone is so busy. Who can take time out for an old man - with old memories. That's all he has left - memories. He can only bide his time and shuffle on, alone, until he is no more.

A happy, full life can become, as quickly as a summer shower, a sorrowful, empty life - days, weeks, months full of confusion and anguish. A lethargy sets in, apathy. The once happy, productive human being is trapped in a cocoon of loneliness, unable to reach out. His energy is sapped by despair, and anyhow, there is no one - no one. Hope is a word for the young. For the old and lonely, hope ceases to exist.

We are in such a hurry living our own hectic, filled-to-over-flowing lives, but we see it, the loneliness. We see it and we hurry on. It is sad, but it has nothing to do with us. Oh, but it does. It does, my friend. We never know as the years whiz by what our circumstances may be. No one is immune to loneliness.

So we need to turn back and look at the elderly soul. We need to stop. We need to smile. We need to chat for a moment. What a gift: a moment of caring. What a reward: eyes that come alive as that caring manifests itself.

There is some irony in all of this. Billions of dollars are being spent, and rightfully so, as dedicated men and women search for cures for devastating diseases, yet it lies within the abilities and power of all of us, every single human being, to be able to wipe out that equally devastating state of existence - loneliness. It does not require a Ph.D. in psychology; it doesn't take billions of dollars - not a dime, a nickel, nor a single penny. All it takes is a minute of our time, one care-filled moment.

Someday it may be you sitting on a bench or wandering through the shopping mall, lonely and forgotten. You are insignificant and you don't matter any more. Then, if you are lucky, someone notices you and, smiling, stops to chat a minute. That minute sparks a flame of joy in a soul wrapped in despair. So the next time you are out and about, look around - spread some joy. What we give always comes back to us. We do, indeed, reap what we sow."

.. . .