LONELINESS IS a painful reality. It can appear as a faint dis-ease, an inner dissatisfaction, and a restlessness in the heart. It is part of being human, because there is nothing in existence that can completely fulfill the needs of the human heart. It can become a source of creative energy. It is the fundamental force that urges mystics to a deeper union with God. It can be a force for good. However, loneliness shows other, less positive faces. It can lead to depression and chaos. It can become agony, a scream of pain. It can even become a taste of death.
The antidote to loneliness is love, a love that welcomes, that includes, that makes one feel he or she belongs. There is a need for a passage from disorder to order, a new order comes through the following principles: a] all humans are sacred; b] world and individual lives are in the process of evolving; c] maturity comes through working with others, through dialogue, and through a sense of belonging and a searching together; d] humans need to make choices and to become responsible for their own lives and for the lives of others; e] to reflect and to seek truth and meaning. Love transforms loneliness and love has seven aspects that are necessary for the transformation of the heart in those who are profoundly lonely. Love: a] reveals; b] understands; c] communicates; d] celebrates; e] empowers; f] seeks communion; g] forgives.
Loneliness is connected to belonging. Belonging is an essential need of humanity to be and to share with others. Belonging is important for growth to independence, it is important for growth to inner freedom and maturity. It is only through belonging that one can break out of the shell of individualism and self-centeredness that both protects and isolates the self.
The parable of the beggar named Lazarus tells a lot about today’s world where there’s a huge abyss between those who have and those who have not. Lazarus is a symbol of exclusion. Lazarus is a symbol of humanity that is frightened to enter into a heart-to-heart relationship; a humanity that is afraid to change. This is reason why there is fear to be related with the “lazaruses” of the world because if one does then one risks being changed. Fear is the root of prejudice and exclusion and it comes in many forms like: a) fear of dissidents; b) fear of difference; c) fear of failure; and d) fear of loss and change. The way out of fear is the way of the heart—the basis of all relationships—that which is deepest in every person. The heart bonds itself to another heart; it leads humans out of the restricted belonging, which creates exclusion, to meet and love others just as they are. The way of the heart is the way of becoming human. Human being is more than the power or capacity to think or to perform. There is a gentle person of love hidden in the child within each adult. The heart is a place of encounter with others. The heart is not a matter of vague emotion for it is the very core of humanity. Indeed, the path from exclusion to inclusion can only happen when one is free from compulsive needs to succeed, to be powerful and to be afraid. Inclusion entails freedom from past hurts and growth to freedom.
(To be continued)
