You are not alone

There are times when we all feel so alone. Not because we do not have many people around us but simply because we either don’t have the right people or the kind of people we would like, surrounding us. At other times when we are up against challenges and we feel that we are left to fend for ourselves without any meaningful assistance, the aloneness grips us. The irony is you can be in a crowd and still feel alone.

Again, when we are down and out, let down by trusted friends and associates or those with whom we share blood ties, this is the thought that is uppermost in our minds.

The fact is we are never alone. If only we cry out for help, the Divine comes to our rescue in a myriad number of ways. We are assured of this in all the scriptures. Time and again we are told: “Do not fear for I am with you” or “Why fear when I am here ”. The Bible assures us “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you, he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Aid comes through total strangers who were never on our radar, through messages, printed passages or a chain of circumstances. In today’s wired world Divine grace even manifests across continents and oceans maybe through a social media contact or a support group.

Our dear, departed loved ones too continue to care for us long after they have gone. There are many stories of intercession when we seek their help. I read one about a French nun Jeanne Jugan who was beatified and canonised. A plea for intercession to Jeanne Jugan (Foundress of the order — Little Sisters of the Poor) was answered with a miracle cure for a man named Dr Gatz who was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus and given just a few days to live. He was not even looking for a new lease of life nor was he hopeful, yet he was touched by Divine grace.

Disappointment and aloneness overtakes us largely because we place our faith on human beings rather than the Supreme. When our morale is low what we need to do is seek out the Divine — visit places of worship or read the scriptures and holy books, listen to talks and discourses on the subject and draw inspiration from the numerous edifying stories therein. If it is a picture or a verse or rosary or sacred objects like holy beads that give you strength by all means carry that with you or visualise and hold them in your mind’s eye.

The bottom-line is to believe when all is bleak and remote that there is someone who cares and protects and keep reinforcing the faith that succour will come. The strength of that belief and the power of that faith will more often than not work miracles and see you through periods of acute aloneness.

The writer is a Reiki channel, yoga practitioner and a spiritual seeker