Strength in Solitude – November 05, 2000
Most of us at one time or another have experienced feelings of loneliness. Few emotions are more painful; and, compounded by months or even years, the desperation of suffering in silence can be almost unbearable. Easing the pain is never a simple matter of being surrounded by a crowd. What is really needed is a solid connection with other people—genuine closeness—to be loved. Erich Fromm said, “This desire for interpersonal fusion is the most powerful striving in man.” Speaking of love, Fromm continues: “It is the force which keeps the human race together. . . . Without love, humanity could not exist for a day.”1
After a disagreement with his captain, a Scottish sailor named Alexander Selkirk, at his own request, was put ashore on a deserted Pacific island. But as his mates were rowing away, he came to his senses and pleaded to be taken back. The stern captain refused. Selkirk said that his heart yearned within him, and melted at parting with his comrades and all human society at once. Struggling to reconcile himself to the most unthinkable human torment, he became severely depressed, yet sweetly pensive. He later noted that he was a better Christian in his solitude than he ever was before.2 When Selkirk was finally rescued four and a half years later, his renewed contact with friendly people quickly relieved his sorrow.
Occasionally, like Alexander Selkirk, we come to recognize that we’ve placed ourselves on our own island of isolation. For example, an uninviting manner can close the door to meaningful relationships. Realizing this, we can open the door to others. It’s more rewarding to give love than to expect love, for even in the slightest act of benevolence, we forget our own sorrow, and loneliness dissolves away.
If we find ourselves marooned, it’s then we can find great strength in solitude. No one is ever completely alone. No one ought to feel like a castaway. With our deepest sense of devotion to God, we come to know that He always loves us and that He’s ready to comfort us in our greatest moments of need.
Program #3716
1. The Art of Loving (New York: Bantam Books, 1956), 15.
2. See Samuel Wood, The History of Alexander Selkirk, The Real Robinson Crusoe (New York: Samuel Wood & Sons, 1815), 5,7.