God Forbid Podcast [ABC]: https://tinyurl.com/yc7xmmh6

Religion is at the centre of world affairs, but profound questions still remain: Why are you here? What happens when you die? Does God matter? God Forbid seeks the answers. Airs Sunday 6am Repeated: Sunday 10pm, Monday 9pm

"Even though humans can't exist alone, many feel that they do. For some, loneliness is mild and transitory, but for other’s chronic — the pain can be so profound that it affects physical wellbeing. On God Forbid, James Carleton and our panel explore the different forms that 'being alone' can take, and what can be done.

In this episode:

There are reports suggesting that 1 in 4 Australians are lonely — and that was before the isolation of the pandemic. Since then, data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare suggests half the country - or 54% - have felt an increase in loneliness.

Loneliness overlaps with isolation. But not everyone who's isolated is lonely. Many Christian monks and nuns sought places of isolation to seek divine presence and inspiration.

There's a social and spiritual dimension to loneliness, but does gender also have a role to play? Are there differences between how men and women perceive and make social connections?"

Guest: Dr Jonathan Zecher is a research fellow at the Australian Catholic University’s Melbourne campus, and an expert in ancient Greek and early Christian culture. He's also the author and editor of several books, including the forthcoming "Disability, Medicine, and Healing Discourse in Early Christianity."

Thoughts?

@fmf said
God Forbid Podcast [ABC]: https://tinyurl.com/yc7xmmh6

Religion is at the centre of world affairs, but profound questions still remain: Why are you here? What happens when you die? Does God matter? God Forbid seeks the answers. Airs Sunday 6am Repeated: Sunday 10pm, Monday 9pm

"Even though humans can't exist alone, many feel that they do. For some, lon ...[text shortened]... ng the forthcoming "Disability, Medicine, and Healing Discourse in Early Christianity."

Thoughts?

There are a number of different subjects here, so I'll focus on one: Loneliness

JMHO -Loneliness affects each of us differently, but it's largely what you make of it. i.e., Henry David Thoreau penned his best work in the solitude of a small cabin, Mary Shelly wrote a little gothic piece called Frankenstein during an unusually long, harsh winter, Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German in the loneness of a monk's cell, advancements in mathematics, physics, and chess theory usually happen in private, and the list goes on. Like most, I've felt the discomfort of loneliness since COVID has invaded our lives. Plans for OTB tournaments have been put on hold and social gatherings are a thing of the past now, however all those home projects have been done, there is more time to not only read my bible, but to research the meaning behind the words, more time to exercise, and after many hundreds of tactics exercises and online games, there's some real improvement in my game and rating. Being housebound, and the resulting loneliness that comes with it, is an adjustment for sure, but I don't see it as a bad thing.

@mchill said
There are a number of different subjects here, so I'll focus on one: Loneliness

JMHO -Loneliness affects each of us differently, but it's largely what you make of it. i.e., Henry David Thoreau penned his best work in the solitude of a small cabin, Mary Shelly wrote a little gothic piece called Frankenstein during an unusually long, harsh winter, Martin Luther translated the ...[text shortened]... sulting loneliness that comes with it, is an adjustment for sure, but I don't see it as a bad thing.

True. Loneliness is something that everyone experiences at some time in their lives. I think the true test of self is how you approach it. Do you use it, or does it use you? I use periods of loneliness to work on myself. If you don't have someone else to treat you well, then treat yourself well. The plus side here is that if you use the time to work on yourself, then you'll be ready to take advantage of it by being a person someone else might want to be with when someone new does enter your life.

And I find that staying busy is the best way to fend off loneliness and to stop the self-criticism that leads to depression and bad thoughts about yourself.