Sauerkraut Berry - A Good Picture of Loneliness

Have you ever heard of the “sauerkraut berry” of life? This make-believe fruit is a good picture of loneliness. Let me illustrate.

It is alleged that in Africa there is a fruit called the "taste berry," It is so labeled because it supposedly changes a person's taste so that everything eaten seems sweet and satisfying. I picture some totally horrible sour lemon and wonder if the "taste berry" could convert its tartly tang to a tasty treat? Or, what about “sweet sauerkraut” for a scintillating change? I don’t know if my stomach could handle such imbalance, but my interest is at least peaked by the possibility!

Loneliness seems to be just the opposite of a taste berry fruit. I call it the “ sauerkraut berry” of life. Loneliness has a way of making the sweet things of our life sour! Life can be sweet, but when you feel isolated and alone, everything is sour. For just a few examples: suicides occur mostly when you are alone; drug overdoses mostly happen when you are on your own; vain, dangerous imaginations like homicide desires crop up when you are by yourself; and road rage escalates more when you are driving single. You can even feel the rage of solitude in a crowd if your inner thoughts are of things and hurts which you cannot or dare not share. Loneliness is surely a sauerkraut berry!

On the other hand, to be fair, loneliness can be inspirational. Next to love, loneliness is perhaps the second most fashionable feeling; loneliness has inspired thousands of writers, artists and songwriters to produce their masterpieces. Rosetti painted it through the face of his beloved, Van Gogh became a genius partly because of it, and Poe became its placard. Yet, this “sauerkraut berry” for all its possible outward gain, is one of the most destructive of human feelings. I see loneliness to the soul much like heartburn is to the body. That is, it might just be temporary (and we all experience it from time to time!) and will pass, or it might be symptomatic of something dreadfully wrong with our inner person.

How can you overcome the fear of loneliness? Author, Stanly Popovich, outlines a few techniques:

1. · Find an activity that you enjoy and where you can meet a lot of people
2. · Spending time with animals can be a great source of companionship.
3. · Helping others through community service can be of some help. There are many people out there who could benefit from your time and talents.
4. · Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking.

The worse thing you can do is ignore it and do nothing! Such isolation can kill your inner person. Let us now take a look at what loneliness actually is:

Definitions of loneliness on the Web:

• the state of being alone in solitary isolation
• forlornness: sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned
• aloneness: a disposition toward being alone -wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• Loneliness is an emotional state in which a person experiences a powerful feeling of emptiness and isolation. Loneliness is more than just the feeling of wanting company or wanting to do something with another person. ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loneliness
• For more see also: Larry C. Mullins, Auburn University -books.elsevier.com/companions/9780122268601/articles.htm

As you can see, these definitions of loneliness make it self-evident that loneliness is antithetical to relationships! That is, if you have positive relations with God and other persons, the toxic twang of this “sauerkraut berry” is rendered harmless, or at least only a temporary nuisance that passes as circumstances change! It is hard to remain lonely when you are actively engaged in quality interaction with others.

A Scriptural principle comes to the forefront:

Luke 10:27 (NIV Translation)…”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love is the beginning building block of all quality relationships. Of course, this love is not necessarily a “romantic” or “feeling” based quality. Rather, it is revealed in your desire to do or to invest in the heart, soul, strength and mind of another by involving yourself and your heart, soul, strength and mind to do/be good to him/her. Love worships God; love makes lovers; love makes friendships; love raises children; love creates heroes and role models; love writes songs; love makes music come alive; love works to provide a living for others; love feeds the poor and shelters the homeless; and love heals the sourness of solitude and becomes the “taste berry” of life. The sting of loneliness is overcome!

Psalms 23:4 (King James Translation) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…

The power of our love and intimate relationship with God even takes us through the solitude of death. There is nothing lonelier than death. Death is the dreaded singularity that both binds us to all mankind and separates us from the herd as we walk alone down its narrow valley. What horrible loneliness; no one knows what you are going through because none of the living are walking with you or following in your wake. Fear envelops you as darkness in a light impaired cave and death’s shadow sucks the light from your inner life force as you keep slowly moving through its vale. However, the relationships of your love for God and his love for you beckon your inner being like looking unto a morning sun rise, and you realize you are far from being alone! Fear is replaced by faith, and this presence of a loving God overshadows the shallower shadow of death; His arms comfort you and your sourness finds some satisfying sweetness! Love trumps loneliness.

Also, while you live, intimate relationships such as family and church, maintained friendships, and positive thoughts born by knowing who you are and what you have, tend to hold your hands and embrace you even when you are all alone:

Proverbs 18:24 (King James Translation) A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

This sweetness is yours because you have invested yourself into someone else. When you make the effort to affirm others, positive affirmation comes back to you when you are alone. We all feel lonely at times. I know as a pastor, I have experienced it often. On the other hand, the sourness of solitude never stays, for I have tasted the “taste berry!”

Web Resources To Help The Reader Overcome The Fear Of Loneliness

Articles On Loneliness A Collection Of Four Powerful Articles On Loneliness. At the conclusion of each are further free resources. The articles are titled:

• Overcoming The Fear Of Loneliness
• Overcoming Loneliness
• Loneliness: 10 Help Strategies Anyone Can Use
• Loneliness: Toothache Of The Soul

HUBS ON LONELINESS!

• Decoding Loneliness - What can I do To Heal My Lonely and / or Broken Heart? - Dig into the real reason your Lonely
• Another Impulsive Poem On Loneliness
• Dealing With Loneliness

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