Can anything good come from loneliness?

​Given what I’ve written about loneliness, it might come as a surprise I would say one can find any benefit from it. But I very much believe you can. As Marissa Korda, the founder of The Loneliness Project, said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper: “Loneliness as just a normal part of being human. It comes, it goes, it’s something that we experience and it doesn’t need to be as isolating as it is….It’s not realistic to expect that we can cure loneliness and I don’t think we should—it’s part of being human.”
 
Too often, there is an all-or-nothing take on loneliness and a level of fear-mongering associated with it. It’s an “epidemic” and a “health crisis” that must be “defeated.” They way some write of it nowadays it sounds as if we’re dealing with the Black Plague. In reality, you might as well attack guilt or fear since loneliness is as real and prevalent as those feelings and experiences.

My times with loneliness have shown me that it can be something that is helpful and from which to draw strength. Given its inevitability, it’s important to see what we can learn from it and what lessons it might provide us in our journey as human beings. Thus, in my next few entries, I will write about what I’ve learned from loneliness and what you can get from it when it hits you. There’s no reason to sit and take it—there are methods by which you can get out of loneliness. But while it’s happening, reminding yourself of the benefits can ease the emotional pain it can cause.