Lonely Birds!

I dare not think about the life of a priest in a lonely parish, as is the case with many interior missions; due to the lack of priests, these men are to live alone, all by themselves, with no companion to share life in common, as is the case with any religious congregation. I also feel how they would be haunted by loneliness, and the need for a companion, with whom they could pour out their pains and agonies, joys and ecstasies. The priests are to face more loneliness if they do not get along well with the community of believers they serve; if the people turn hostile, their plight is doubled.

One of the ways how these priests attempt to overcome this sense of loneliness, is by having friends near and far, with whom they could share life through modern means of communication. I would not be surprised if the persons living alone in a remote village, has a fat telephone bill; it is his need, and that is a survival mechanism. There are also some others who try to overcome loneliness through some unhealthy practices; some develop obsessive compulsion to gluttony, some to watching films, some to sleeping. For them, to kill time is a major preoccupation.

I had been taught in my younger days that one of the best ways of overcoming loneliness is to develop a healthy hobby, on which I can fall back, whenever I feel down and forelorn. Alas for those who have not develped some healthy habits, they would find it hard to spend time usefully. I know some of my friends who know how to make use of their free time, especially when they are alone. Some write poems, some compose music, some do wonderful gardening, and all of these are profitable not only at the personal level, but also benefit the wider society. Anyone who foresees a lonely life in future should start preparing to face it already at the younger age.

But it would be wrong to think that only the diocesan priests most often feel lonely; their situations may force them to such a situation; even persons living in big communities may experience certain amount of loneliness, especially when there is no one to spoon-feed them every time. Some feel "left out", when there is no one to take good care of them; they like to be invited for meals, invited for dinner outside, or taken for an icecream. During the personal free time, some may fine it hard to while away the time. That is why gossiping is a major timepass in many religious communities.

If a person does not take care to overcome loneliness already at the early stage, then it could become a matter of major concern, because it is bound to lead to some other unhealthy social practices. What can I do in order to overcome loneliness? The best way is, to give company to the persons who feel and experience loneliness around me; for when I feel lonely, they are sure to reach out to me, and share their valuable time and energy. It is only by reaching out to one another that we can create a world where we can experience oneness and unity of all creations.