Credit - Marina Shatskikh - Pexels

Quotes and Bible Verses for Loneliness

Loneliness

Loneliness is quite a daunting human condition. We all can get a little lonely on occasion. You can be by yourself and feel lonely, or you can be in a room full of people and feel lonely too. 

Loneliness is an emotional state that happens when there is a gap between the social connections you want and the social connections you have. And while being alone simply means the absence of others, you can still feel isolated and by yourself within a crowd if you lack any perceived social relationship.

When you feel lonely, as most people sometimes do, it's easy to feel like you are on an emotional island that nobody else inhabits. That's simply not true. 

I've put together some quotes and Bible verses to underscore that you are not singular in your feelings. I hope you read this mix of phrases ranging from hopeful to melancholy and embrace those feelings as something shared. This step alone will be life-changing for some of you.

Quotes and Bible Verses for Loneliness

Quotes on Loneliness

"We feel alone, and in this we are connected." 

-Leo Babauta

"There's nothing abnormal about loneliness." 

-Paula Stokes

"A season of loneliness and isolation is when the caterpillar gets its wings. Remember that next time you feel alone." 

-Mandy Hale

"You are never alone. You are eternally connected with everyone." 

-Amit Ray

"When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death - ourselves." 

-Eda J. LeShan

"I think it's very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person." 

-Oscar Wilde

"When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone." 

-Tennessee Williams

"Loneliness doesn't have much to do with where you are." 

-Hugh Hefner

"And if I'm alone in bed, I will go to the window, look up at the sky, and feel certain that loneliness is a lie, because the Universe is there to keep me company." 

-Paul Coelho

"They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts." 

-Sir Philip Sidney

"Ordinary men hate solitude. But the master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe." 

-Lao Tzu

"As soon as I realized happiness was internal and that I was the only one responsible for it, I stopped feeling lonely." 

-Maxine Lagace

"Ah, look at all the lonely people." 

-The Beatles

"The best part of being alone is that you really don't have to answer to anybody. You do what you want." 

-Justin Timberlake

"Loneliness is proof that your innate search for connection is intact." 

-Martha Beck

"Sometimes you need to take a break from everyone and spend time alone to experience, appreciate, and love yourself." 

-Robert Tew

"Loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man." 

-Thomas Wolfe

"Being alone and actually sitting with our own thoughts can lead to such growth and realizations that are rare in our everyday busy lives." 

-Kourtney Kardashian

"Be good and you will be lonesome." 

-Mark Twain

"If one's different, one's bound to be lonely." 

-Aldous Huxley

"I owe everything that I have done to the fact that I am very much at ease being alone." 

-Marilynne Robinson

"If you go deeper and deeper into your own heart, you'll be living in a world with less fear, isolation and loneliness." 

-Sharon Salzberg

"There is nothing outside of yourself. Look within. Everything you want is there." 

-Rumi

"A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free." 

-Arthur Schopenhauer

"People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don't think that's true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world." 

-Kim Culbertson

"Find company within yourself and you'll never spend a day alone. Find love within yourself and you'll never have a lonely day." 

-Connor Chalfant

"I was never less alone than when by myself." 

-Edward Gibbon

"The lonely one offers his hand too quickly to whomever he encounters." 

-Friedrich Nietzsche

"I might be alone, but I'm never lonely." 

-Megan Hart

"Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up." 

-Pearl Buck

"When they are alone they want to be with others, and when they are with others they want to be alone. After all, human beings are like that." 

-Gertrude Stein

"Loneliness can be conquered only by those who can bear solitude." 

-Paul Tillich

"Solitude is the beginning of all freedom." 

-William Orville Douglas

"By all means use sometimes to be alone. Salute thyself; see what the soul doth wear." 

-George Herbert

"The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely." 

-Lorraine Hansberry

"Being alone is a priceless opportunity; it's the perfect time for self-observation, introspection and realization." 

-Yogi Ramdad

"If you smile when you are alone, then you really mean it." 

-Andy Rooney

"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." 

-Maya Angelou

"What a lovely surprise to discover how unlonely being alone can be." 

-Ellen Burstyn

"The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone." 

-Mitch Albom

"I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude." -Henry David Thoreau

"The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone." 

-Henrik Ibsen

Bible Verses on Loneliness

"He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.'" 

-Hebrews 13:5-6

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." 

-Isaiah 41:10

"This is my command - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

"He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds." 

-Psalm 147:3

"The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people." 

-1 Samuel 12:22

"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you." 

-Isaiah 43:2

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love." 

-Romans 8:38

"God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity." 

-Psalm 68:5-6

"Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand." 

-Psalm 73:23

Final Thoughts on Loneliness

We are social beings by nature, seeking connection and validation through others. From time to time that connection seems lost, and we feel lonely. It's fine to feel that way, but harmful to stay in that rut too long.

There is a close connection between prolonged loneliness and depression. If you cannot shake ongoing feelings of loneliness, seek outside help from a therapist or a member of the clergy.

Loneliness is a common thing that humans share. Being alone doesn't have to result in loneliness.

Here are some parting tips to help ward off loneliness:

*Try to find purpose in your life. Read: 4 Tips for Finding Your Purpose

*Practice self-care. Read: Strategies for Better Self-Care

*Journal. Yes, write your feelings down. See the recommendation below.

*Lose yourself in uplifting music. Tap those blues away.

*Exercise. Get up and get out.

*Meditate and practice mindfulness

*Create something. A meal, a picture, a poem. The sky is the limit.

*Get to know yourself. Use the time to determine your true self. Read: 4 Tips for Remaining True to Yourself

*Spend time alone in prayer. Great time to renew your faith when there are no interruptions. Read: 6 Ways to a Better Prayer Life

Remember that being alone isn't necessarily a bad thing for us. It allows us to recharge, regroup, and connect with ourselves without distraction. 

Love yourself enough to hang out with you...

Now go live your best life,

Dan

"Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me." 

-Psalm 23:4 NLT