WORLD FRIENDSHIP DAY
There is a global epidemic of loneliness today. So many people feel unloved. But you must know for sure that you are loved very much. You are held closely by the earth, this air. The earth loves you; that’s why it is holding you upright. The love of the earth is its gravitational force. The Divine loves you so dearly. Once you realize this, you will never feel lonely. Divine is the biggest victim of one sided love. He loves you so much and you don’t even recognize it.
A person’s company cannot fill the loneliness in your life. Even if it does, it does not last for very long. Once you learn to be comfortable being alone for a while, you will not feel lonely.
Nobody who enjoys being with their own self can have a boring personality. If you find your own company boring, how can anyone else like it? Any company looks very good from a distance.
Those who are in company of others the entire time, look for the comfort of solitude and those who are in solitude always can end up feeling lonely without company. Everyone is looking for a balance. I am not asking you to escape or run away to the mountains. But from time to time, maintain some distance from those you are close to, attached to.
Every day for a few minutes, cut off from the world and everything in it, and be with yourself and meditate. Then you will not feel lonely even when you are alone.
Doing seva or service and being useful to others is a powerful way to get over the feeling of loneliness. The service you do brings a revolution inside you.
Every time you are lonely, you are simply becoming familiar with your own boundaries. It is your limitation and boundary that is the real cause of your unhappiness. Just be grateful and pray for peace. That very moment, you will start smiling and however hopeless the situation is, you will cruise over it.
You cannot force yourself to become enthusiastic and confident. When you feel useless, become prayerful, and surrender. You will see that you will gain back your confidence and enthusiasm. Whether it is extreme joy or happiness or terrible misery, there is a part of us that remains untouched by them. Our wish should be that whomever we meet be happy and radiate happiness.
To come out of loneliness, you make friends with people who share something in common with you. But it is rare to find friends in knowledge who uplift each other. But remember that when the times are trying, they bring out the best in you and when the time is rewarding, you are given the best of the world and life is a bit of both.
When you feel completely disconnected, do not fight or struggle to feel connected. Rest. It is like when you sleep, you remain totally disconnected from even the closest people. You do not get to take anybody else into the sleep state with you. You go there alone. At that moment, see the whole creation as a dream, with a smile. It’s like soap bubbles in water-temporary.
Just turn back and see all those people you met, played with, the many happy and unhappy events that occurred even ten years ago, they are not there now. They are all gone. And all these feelings of misery and loneliness will go away too. So why do you want to get connected, and to what? Everything is temporary and only you are permanent. And so when you feel the disconnection, do not feel sad. Accept this with a smile. Meditate. You will be so centered, and strength from deep within will arise in you.
(Courtesy: Art of Living Bureau of Communication)
