Speaking with the delightful Rowena Robinson earlier this week, I took the opportunity to ask her opinion on loneliness, from a spiritual point of view. Her response was very interesting. - Jody Webster.
"My first thought when you asked that question was how do I need to readdress my spirituality so that loneliness is not an issue for me?
In my experience, it's a dearth. There's something lacking in my identity in my spiritual life, that causes the symptom of loneliness. Loneliness is a symptom of being disconnected spiritually.
You hear people talk all the time about being a part of a big family or belonging to church or friendship groups and still feeling lonely. Because to me, the loneliness is a spiritual dearth in them, it's not about what's around them.
The first thing to do when we feel lonely is to address that spiritual hunger. You know, it's like someone's saying, "I've got food all around me, my cupboards are overflowing, my fridge and pantry are filled to overflowing, but I'm hungry." I guess then, the answer is that you need to actually put some food in your mouth!
Sometimes we have people all around us, with whom we are already intrinsically connected, but we have neglected to take care of that connection. We have neglected to nurture it and feed it. Then of course, we are going to feel the lack of that. And to me, that's what loneliness is.
I have heard many women say, 'I'm going to take up sewing and or crafting or I'm going to the gym or going walking and doing things.' I love this little saying; I'd love to say that it's mine, but it's not. "I'm not a human doing. I'm a human being." You know, we rush around doing things and then we ask, 'Why do I feel so bad?'
I was an elite gymnast and our coach used to always say you have to push down to go up. You know, it's counterintuitive, if you want to rise high in the air, the downward pressure has to be really forceful, you have to push down to go up.
And it's the same with this. I want more connection, so the answer is to almost withdraw. I want to be with all those people, and the way is to sit down, be quiet, and connect spiritually. Go to my spiritual origins, that's where I'm connected to everybody.
You know, you see it with the people we admire most, the, the holy grails, the Sadhgurus, they have something that we want, they have that really peaceful quietness that draws people to them. They've taken care of their interior spiritual health.
We have to see the value in our own existence. We have to say that there's value in in our existence and that we matter. Once we see and believe in our own value, others will see it too."