"Loneliness is one of the deepest, most universal, and most profound experiences that we have. . . . Loneliness can be a force that helps sensitize us to the needs and yearnings of our hearts."
-- Ronald Rolheiser in The Restless Heart
Book: Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick offers a fascinating assessment of the roots of this growing malaise and a person's ability to regulate the emotions linked to isolation.
Book Excerpt: This reading from Between the Dark and the Daylight by Joan Chittister asserts that loneliness, which all of us experience at some point or another, can be a starting point to become new again and a call to make other people's needs our own.
Book Excerpt: This reading from Choosing Happiness by Stephanie Dowrick examines the feelings associated with loneliness and notes when it would be helpful to seek help dealing with it.
Film: Gloria is a top-drawer Chilean film about the loneliness and vulnerabilities of a middle-aged divorcee who uses dancing, playfulness, and humor as antidotes to loneliness.
Film: The Station Agent is an engaging drama about three very different people, all lonely in their own ways, who discover how friendship can abound, express love, and take us to places we have never imagined.
Ritual: This ritual for uniting with lonely ones by Joyce Rupp includes a prayer for a lonely day, scripture passages about times of loneliness, an invitation to reflect upon a song about loneliness, and a prayer to God of the lonely about the call to wrestle with loneliness.
Spiritual Practice: A Practice to Counter Loneliness by Hugh Prather outlines an exercise to enable you to become aware of the quiet and peaceful place within you where there is no loneliness.
