Divine Love – Life Love – Human Love

Even while living on earth, what people feel most painful may not be the pain in their bodies but it is actually the pain in their hearts and in their souls. Doctors of the bodies are so significant but doctors of the souls are even a lot more vital. It is because our bodies are mortal and our souls are immortal. Our bodies will die no matter how well we look after them and how carefully we take care of them. In our world today, the suffering that seems to be the most painful for people is not the suffering from cancer or AIDS. Rather, it is that of feeling rejected, despised, ignored and left alone. When people are young, they want to have freedom, they want to have their own privacy and they want to live alone and do the things they enjoy. And because of this, a lot of younger people leave home and go to another place, to go to another city or another country to live. Nevertheless, when people become older, they have a lot of free time to think and they usually think a lot. They then feel very lonely and they want to have other people living with them. They desire to have people, especially their families, around to talk to and to listen to them.

Nonetheless, their children and grandchildren are busy with their own lives. They may not be able to live with them or near them. They may not want them to stay at their homes either. When you go to rest homes and the elderly’s homes, you can see and feel the loneliness and the sadness these people are facing. I do not mean that all of them are like this but I can say that most elderly people, especially those in the Western cultures are isolated and very lonely. The elderly are those who need our care, love, support and respect. They are the people who have worked hard to build our society and community. They are the ones who have contributed to building the hospitals, bridges, roads, schools, etc. They deserve our care, love, protection and respect. Yet, sadly, sometimes, society forgets about this and it may not treat them that well.

When people are lonely, they may think negatively. When they think negatively, heartrendingly some of them may be tempted to commit suicide and to end their lives. It is because for some people, it is better to die rather than to live in a constant loneliness. Loneliness and feeling rejected, ignored, despised and abandoned is not only a problem of the elderly. However, it is also something younger people are struggling with.

What can we do to help those who are lonely and those who are feeling rejected, ignored, despised and abandoned? This is not something to which we can give a good answer or a helpful solution straight away. Some people may spend all their lives thinking, contemplating and searching for the things they can do to help those who are lonely, weary and depressed. But, even until they are close to death, they still have not yet had an authentic answer for this. Somebody has said that the first step to healing is not to step away from the pain, but to step toward it. When people are afraid of loneliness and try to run away from it, they may still face it anywhere and everywhere they are running to or looking at. Often, those who feel lonely and rejected are those who are afraid of the loneliness and rejection. They do not dare to look at the pain and the problems they are facing. Some of them may not have enough bravery to admit their weaknesses and their concerns. .They may think that they do not have enough valiance and strength to overcome the problems they have. They may not want others to know that they are lonely and depressed either. Yet, there is a fact that if we do not know our own pain, it is very hard for us to heal it.

If we try to be with those who feel rejected, abandoned and despised and help them to realise that they should not try to run away from their pain but they should trust that they have the courage, perseverance and strength to stand in it, we may be able to help them to understand that everyone has their own crosses and everybody has their own pain. But there is peace beyond the anguish, love beyond fear and life beyond death and all of us are born to live, to love and to be loved. We live our lives to love others and to be loved by them. The life of each person is special and sacred. Truly, no one has lived my life before and my life will never be lived again. It is being lived by me and I am the only one who lives this specific and particular life.

Sometimes, just a glint, a smile or a gesture from someone can engrave lovely memories within our hearts. Sometimes we meet somebody once and we feel that we understand them very well and they can also, that much, understand us. There are times we have seen someone once or twice and we feel that we have met them too late. We wish that we could have met and known them earlier in our lives. Sometimes just a beautiful word from somebody can warm a bruised heart, a heart which is weary, moping and withering. That is life. It is so mysterious and challenging but it is also very simple and beautiful.