If we are honest we can all say that we have experienced loneliness to some degree. However loneliness isn’t prevented or fixed by beauty, wealth, fame, or success. Even marriage doesn’t protect us against loneliness. There are many people that marry because they’re lonely and then divorce a few years later for the same reason.

When we’re lonely we mustn’t have a pity party. We need to stop saying, “I’m alone. Nobody loves me; nobody even likes me.” When we do that, we’re just focusing on ourself. We need to rather turn our focus outward and build bridges to others. When we do that we’ll find that there are a lot of lonely people who are also looking for connection. The one way that we can build bridges of connection is by empathizing with other people’s needs.We need to ask God to help us connect with others.

There are many life events and situations that cause loneliness in our life.When we go through extreme seasons of transition, separation, rejection, or opposition this can lead to devastating feelings of loneliness. For instance, much of the world experienced loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We need to purpose in our heart not to let difficult times keep us from reaching out to people. By looking beyond our own problems we find creative ways to connect with others. Empathy is an antidote to loneliness.

Erick Bouwmeester