"One thing I've learned is the difference between feeling alone and feeling lonely - and how you can feel lonely in a crowd full of people, but quite peaceful and content when alone"
"We all feel lonely from time to time. Feelings of loneliness are personal, so everyone's experience of loneliness will be different. One common description of loneliness is the feeling we get when our need for rewarding social contact and relationships is not met. But loneliness is not always the same as being alone. You may choose to be alone and live happily without much contact with other people, while others may find this a lonely experience feeling lonely isn't in itself a mental health problem, but the two are strongly linked. Having a mental health problem can increase your chance of feeling lonely."
This brings me to my reason for this post. When was the last time you spent even just 15 minutes visiting with a vulnerable elderly person? Did you LISTEN? really listen... Did you show how much you CARE?... Did they feel LOVED? Many of these old folk look so forward to company and more often than not are just left to their own devices with the only human contact being at meal times or sadly when they need a bath or changing and even that can be carried out in silence or harsh instruction.
I speak from experience when I say you will be the one left much richer by this contact. Especially if memories are shared and those pearls of wisdom that so many of these wonderful elderly still have in abundance are passed on to you. So please take some time out to spend more quality time with those who feel they have nothing left but an empty space where once a vibrant body and mind lived. They too have their stories...
