Saturday, April 19, 2008

It Ain't so Bad

Earlier: On Loneliness
Here is a further thought to expound on what I was implying, which is that loneliness isn't necessarily a good thing, but it is a universal symptom and a healthy acknowledgment of the spiritual/emotional lack in our lives.

"It is not 'abnormal' to be empty, sad, and lonely at the deepest place in our souls that was fashioned for eternity - to be dissatisfied with the empty provisions of this world, sad over the destruction of beauty, lonely for the companionship of lost friendships. It is not only not abnormal, but wrong to be otherwise."
-
from Bold Love by Dr. Dan Allender and Dr. Tremper Longman III.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I respectfully disagree.

Menstruation Nation said...

With what part do you disagree and why?

Anonymous said...

"...but wrong to be otherwise."

--->"Solitude vivifies; isolation kills."

--->"Reason respects the differences, and imagination the similitudes of things."

Mk said...

Well, this isn't about choosing to be alone. This is about the feeling of loneliness within one's soul. This writer is speaking from a spiritual standpoint, and in other portions (err, most of the book) discusses the importance of loving one another. Well, the whole book is about love and what it truly means to love.

What he's saying is that if you don't care about the fact that we aren't all as connected as we should be, that we don't love as fully as we should, that our sins have separated us from each other, then you should really do some soul searching.

Loneliness, as I and the author are using it, isn't about eschewing company (noted by the fact that one can be lonely even while being surrounded by others) or feeling depressed. Loneliness is about the inability to spiritually connect in a perfect way.