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Monday September 8, 2008

Category: Inner Wisdom with Renita Weems

The Inner Wisdom of Loneliness

Being alone and being lonely must never be confused with one another. We all know what it feels like to be crowded in by the demands of others so much that we crave time alone, time to ourselves, time for private thoughts. Time alone gives us the chance to refuel and regroup so we can return to our schedules. But few of us who crave time alone want to live permanently alone and isolated from relationships. Loneliness, as we usually think of it, is feeling desolate and empty for lack of constant companionship. God, I believe, understands fully our need for companionship, intimacy, relationship, connectedness, and to be touched meaningfully by other human beings. Nowhere in Scripture does God confine a human being to permanent isolation.

But there is a loneliness that is intrinsic to our humanity. No amount of love, friendships and sexual encounters can extinguish it. Loneliness can be an invitation from God to draw closer to the flame. Loneliness is where you have opportunity to touch the source of your strength. Try as you may to fill that loneliness with more people, more stuff, more activity, more time away from your Self, the more you try, the more insistent it is. So, accept it: a side of you will never belong fully to others, nor will it ever allow you to be fulfilled by your relationship with others. There is a place within each of us that only the sacred can fill, a place that the divine seeks to occupy.

Loneliness is designed to drive you to the edge of mystery where you might find your true Self.

What do you usually do when you're aching with loneliness? Who are the people in your life that you are most likely to call to fill the loneliness? Next time, resist picking up the phone. Sit with the loneliness. Hear it out.

Instead of searching for people to be with and things to do that will blot out the feelings of loneliness, take out your pen and journal your way through the ache. What's really driving the achiness of loneliness? What might your soul know about your needs that your mind doesn't know?

--Renita Weems

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"Loneliness is designed to drive you to the edge of mystery where you might find your true Self."

Those words ring truth to me. I feel as though I am arriving at that "edge of mystery". God is speaking so clearly to me--through angels, through those who are servants of the Divine Light. There is a transformation taking place in my being that would not have been possible had I not resigned myself to and accepted the moment (what felt like lonliness). It was a sweet resignation. God is drawing me closer each day. The empty place is becoming smaller and smaller.

God is Love. What more do I need?

Posted by: Elizabeth | March 29, 2008 9:21 AM

"Loneliness is designed to drive you to the edge of mystery where you
might find your true Self."

Yes I agree. I was so desperate to find someone to be with,now I am married, but I feel lonelier and more alone.I realised that no one can fill the emptiness inside us,nobody can complete us except God and only God alone.The sadness that I am suffering now makes me start to think deeper about life and its mystery which key is offered right at my face which i so blindly ignored by looking to the wrong direction.My husband becomes a part of me,but he did not complete my life, he is part of God's plan to make me see the real meaning of completeness in life.I am not there yet, but I am striving to get there. I am not groping in the dark anymore.Praised be God forever.

Posted by: Irene J | March 30, 2008 7:19 AM

"What do you usually do when you're aching with loneliness?...Next time, resist picking up the phone. Sit with the loneliness. Hear it out."

I am just realizing that talking about how lonely I may be or complaining about why I feel this way doesn't really make me feel better. It just keeps the feeling alive and present (and that much harder to get over). Though it is harder than it sounds, I am trying to just listen to what lonliness has to say. What are the angels telling me? What am I failing to hear? When I make a conscious effort to just "listen" I can actually hear a message trying to get through. Perhaps it is that message that will push me past this "funk." Give it a shot. The message may have been there all along, waiting for an ear to listen.

Posted by: Michelle | September 9, 2008 3:42 AM

"I am just realizing that talking about how lonely I may be or complaining about why I feel this way doesn't really make me feel better. It just keeps the feeling alive and present (and that much harder to get over)."

wow, Michelle... Blessings on you for sharing this insight! Many many Blessings, and keep sharing it with anyone who will listen :)

Posted by: Cully | September 9, 2008 6:45 PM

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Monday September 8, 2008

The Inner Wisdom of Loneliness

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Monday September 8, 2008

The Inner Wisdom of Loneliness

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