Lonely

     Do you know anyone who is lonely? Maybe someone who seems to know a lot of people, but who does not feel any deep connection to any one of them and so therefore feels alone in their life?
      Most of us have felt lonely at one point in their life; for many of us it was the teenage years that proved to be the most challenging. At a time when kids are trying so hard not to be different from one another, it seems impossible sometimes to feel connected to others.
     You probably know a lonely person--- someone who would love to connect on a deeper level with someone else but also just be able to call and suggest a movie or a walk. You might know someone who has tried over and over to make connections with others only to not have the effort reciprocated. It's soul-destroying, confidence-depleting, self-esteem-lowering, hellish and hard to watch.
     Loneliness is a brutal thing. It is a heaviness which can pull anyone of us under, if we let it. For someone whose sense of self is already fragile, it is a burden of unbearable weight. It cannot be thrown off easily--- it can only be pushed away gradually with the help of a friend....