by Dylan Charles: Loneliness, when accepted, becomes a gift that will lead us to find a purpose in life. ~Paulo Coelho

Loneliness is the illness of our time. Even medical research is warning us that it may be a bigger health risk than smoking or obesity. A stark warning which oddly contradicts the perception of cultural advancement in a technology driven world. After all, we can communicate with far more people and in far more ways than ever before, and we’re connected twenty-four seven. Yet we can still feel desperately alone when together with others in a crowd of people.

Technological communication and connection isn’t giving us what we need. Something is missing. We’re overlooking something critical to the human experience, and loneliness has become the dark plague that torments the human soul.