UPFRONT January 2, 2006 Issue

Turn loneliness into delight

PATRICIA KADICK, STAFF EDITOR

God, who is Love itself, already fills all space—and each and every yearning heart. His presence naturally negates a dread of being alone or feeling empty. Realizing this truth can bring a feeling of stunning delight, an inner glow, to our solitude.

I remember a day when that delight came to me in an unusual way. A wave of loneliness had come out of the blue with suddenness and force. But on this particular occasion, I saw it as something outside myself—actually like a bubble bouncing closer and closer, as if an invitation to indulge in selfish longing. The fact that a bubble is transparent, and takes on whatever hues surround it, made the image even more compelling.

And right then it was as if God, like the Shepherd He is, was smiling directly on me, asking, "Will you welcome this transparent-empty-nothing?" And saying, "Just blow, let it float away. You're not solitary. You are infinity's darling, the sum of all."See Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 259. And I smiled and watched that bubble of "all alone" fade into hints of pink and green until it disappeared, replaced by warmth and light.

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