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Read the original post from the original blogger here:

Shannon's Blog

But if you don't want to do that, here is my response. I thought it was Blog-Worthy

Lonely is as Lonely does. . .

Now I am gonna come in here and kick all you losers while you're down.

Don't you know that lonliness is just about attitude? You just have to believe that people are interested in you and will fullfull all of your interpersonal needs - it will happen for you.

YEAH RIGHT!

Sometimes I think I was more lonely before I got married (5 yrs ago) and sometimes I think I am more lonely now.

Before marriage, I had a lot of time to seek out different relationships. I had the energy to work on those relationships and experience the different kinds of interaction that went along with them, but there was never anyone there to really share in my experiences and care about my life the way I do. There was never anyone who was always "on my side" (for lack of a better cliche).

Now that I am married, my wife provides a constant support. She is "on my side," gives me a lot of strength, and helps me to never feel completely alone.

But I don't have the time and energy I had when I was single to develop relationships with people who are different than my wife. I also don't really think it is appropriate for me to develop any relationships with other women, so "the field" of friends is cut in half, and the time (and don't forget energy cause marriage is hard) I have to spend out there is reduced by even more.

I think we've all got to cope with some level of lonliness in life. The French are experts in this. If you want to see a bunch of lonely people, go live in France for a few years. They all seem to embrace the fact that they are all alone in eternity and nothing can change that.

In fact, I realized reading your post that since I got back from France I don't really think about being lonely as much. I've seen another level of despair, and I realized that I am just not playing with the same deck of sadness as some others.

There are a lot of things that contribute to that. Family, environment, Christianity. . .

I think this is one of the obvious areas of my life where It is a big advantage to be a Christian. Ultimately we are never alone as Christians.

I never really understood the opposite of that proposition before I was a missionary in France. No one is fooling themselves over there. They almost all think (when they die) they are going straight into the ground and never coming out.

And they've made peace with it.

Kinda makes you want to only work 35 hours a week and take 5 weeks of vacation doesn't it.