A friend made this post recently on Facebook: “I’m feeling down. I just learned that a friend I knew when I lived in Illinois passed away. The last time we spoke, which was a month ago, she seemed so up, but evidently, she wasn’t. She took her own life. Her sister said she felt lonely because many friends and family members had recently died. Her other “friends” were too busy with their own lives to spend any time with her. I guess what I am trying to express is we never know what others are going through. Now I wish I had called more often.” The lesson here is that if you know someone who lives alone—especially if they are recently divorced or widowed—check in with them. You never know what the impact of reaching out could be.

One Sentence Wisdom

• “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” — Mother Teresa
• “We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community.” — Dorothy Day

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