Feeling lonely isn’t a personal failing, and you don’t have to transform your social life overnight in order to feel more connected. Try these five gentle mindfulness practices.
I live in a rural area, about four miles from my nearest neighbor. My husband works away on a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off rotation, which is fairly common where I live. The community is widely scattered, you need a car to get almost anywhere, and there isn’t a great deal of interaction between neighbors. In fact, I suspect many people don’t even know who lives closest to them.
But I want to make something clear: I’m not generally a lonely person.
Loneliness doesn’t only find people with empty calendars or empty houses. It looks different for everyone.
At school, I was labeled a “loner.” I’ve never had a large circle of friends, preferring instead the company of two or three close ones. Those friendships have lasted through the years and many birthdays. Two of my closest friends live in the UK, and we keep in touch through online chats, time difference and all.
