Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are entering into what can feel like a particularly lonely season for many people: the leaves have fallen from the trees, daylight disappears early, and the holiday season is upon us.

Sheryl shares a passage from The Wisdom of Anxiety about loneliness, and we talk about how we can shift from discussing it as a statistic (1 in 5 adults in the U.S. reports feeling “serious loneliness”), and start to add color, texture and feeling to the conversation. What color is loneliness for you? What shape does it take? What stories does it bring up in each of us?

Sheryl describes three types of loneliness: loneliness of the self, relational loneliness, and spiritual loneliness. Victoria shares a poem about feeling lonely, and discusses her experience of isolation during covid lockdowns. We talk about our need for others, and how to approach feeling lonely even in the midst of gatherings or intimate relationships. 

To close, Sheryl leads us through a tonglen practice to help us connect not only to our own hearts, but to the hearts of all those around the world who are suffering.

References:

• The Power of Ritual by Casper ter Kuile