doggie kisses for you Matt
I think the reason you are lonely is that we as humans have a profound realization of being separate entities, separate identities, and we long to find unity with another being. Of course that deepest unity can only truly be accomplished with the Spirit of God. But we also long to connect to other human beings. And relationships with human beings are tricky and complicated. We are thinking beings and it’s hard to feel connected to someone who has divergent views from the views you possess. And the longing to find a soul mate, someone who can understand where you are coming from can make one feel eternally lonely. People will tell you that only God can fill that void. And I'm sure that must be ultimately true. But it doesn’t always stop the painful longing we feel to have someone human to connect with on the deepest of levels.
It is so important to live in community and to participate in a community of believers. It’s also important to interact with humanity in general through activities with church members and coworkers, volunteering to help other people, Church ministries such as prison ministry, or feeding the homeless.
You can also find a profound sense of meaning from doing secular volunteering with organizations such as meals on wheels, or even walking dogs at the Humane Society.
Ultimately there is only one way to find peace, joy, love, and fulfillment. It is the way of the Cross, It is through giving yourself away that you will find yourself.
The Prayer of St Francis
Lord make me an instrument of thy peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow Love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.