LONELINESS

(thoughtful) FOOD FOR THOUGHT By Chass Campbell

Loneliness is no respecter of persons. The great Albert Einstein said, "It is strange to be known so universally, and yet to be so lonely." Yet even though loneliness invaded his life, it may have been his brilliance that isolated him from us lesser mortals.

It may also have been in his loneliness that he was able to bring forth so many brilliant discoveries. Perhaps more than at any time in history the scourge of loneliness has become pervasive in the world. It is a rapidly increasing part of human existence and an inescapable fact of life.

It has been accurately described as a debilitating deficiency disease that knows no limitations of age, class, or sex. One newspaper, who wanted to discover the problems most concern to it's readers,conducted a survey. Three problems predominated in the responses they received.

Fear, worry, and loneliness. Fear and worry accompany loneliness but it is loneliness that casts the longest shadow on our contemporary world. The airwaves ring to the tune of loneliness. A large number of our pop songs and lyrics are saturated with melancholy themes of frustration, emptiness, loneliness. Country and western music invariably tells the story of broken relationships, desertion, and infidelity and the loneli-ness that results.

It seems loneliness is everywhere.