I spend a lot of my time writing and communicating and over the years, I have sporadically received questions from around the globe looking for inspiration and guidance.

6 years ago – an emailed titled, “Why am I so Alone?” arrived into my inbox.

The question was simple:

“Why do I always feel lonely? Everyone underestimates me, but I am here for some purpose, I know…. But my silence keeps people from talking to me.” ~ Arun, Delhi, India

If you are feeling alone this holiday season or know someone who is, you may find comfort in my answer like Arun from India did.

Hello Arun,

You are not alone. Loneliness is a universal human emotion, complex and unique to each individual. Loneliness is not necessarily about being alone, but more about the perception of being alone.

Separation, isolation and loneliness are enormous challenges for any human being. These feelings can be devastating to physical and mental health. What causes separation, this profound feeling of loneliness and isolation that so many struggle with daily? The answer is simple… FEAR.

We are so afraid of being hurt or judged that we often would rather suffer than to take a risk and be honest about who we really are – our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our disappointments, our joys, and the multitude of other parts of our inner-lives.

Each individual on the road trip of life is not just a participant but you contribute to the energy of everyone you meet. You, because of who you are, born in this world, because of how you were brought up, because of who you were perhaps in a previous lifetime.  Everything that you have seen, everything that you have lost and everything that you have won in your life.

And those moments of high courage dotted through your past, moments of insight and epiphany bring you to today being the only person on the planet that has the energy you do, the only person on the planet that channels energy like you do.  If we were made up of an orchestra inside, each of us would give off a different song, and your music is not only important for you in the world, it is important for everybody else.