Hello everyone! It’s great to be enjoying another weekend with you all. We hope that your summer-to-fall transitions are going well (unless, of course, you’re in the Southern hemisphere and are transitioning from winter to spring. We always enjoy the new life of the spring season).

Here’s our new Saturday Symposium question:

How this works: It’s very simple. We ask a multi-part question related to a topic we’ve blogged about during the past week or are considering blogging about in the near future, and you, our readers, share your responses in the comments section. Feel free to be open, reflective, and vulnerable…and to challenge us. But as always, be mindful of the comment policy that ends each of our posts. Usually, we respond fairly quickly to each comment, but in order to give you time to think, come back, add more later if you want, and discuss with other readers, we will wait until after Monday to respond to comments on Saturday Symposium questions.

This week’s Saturday Symposium question: Many people associate living celibacy with dealing with loneliness. The Guardian recently reported on how loneliness can be characterized by loss and transition. Without community involvement, many people who are socially isolated and in need of support can go unnoticed. Therefore, we’d like to ask: When do you know that another person is lonely? What roles do transition and loss have in increasing the likelihood that a person might be lonely? How can a community support a lonely person? How can a lonely person find supportive communities? Are there ways to transition and grieve that create meaningful connections for people?   

We look forward to reading your responses. If you’re concerned about having your comment publicly associated with your name, please consider using the Contact Us page to submit your comment. We can post it under a pseudonym (i.e. John says, “your comment”) or summarize your comment in our own words (i.e. One person observed…). Participating in this kind of public dialogue can be risky, and we want to do what we can to protect you even if that means we preserve your anonymity. Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Sarah and Lindsey

Comment Policy: Please remember that we, and all others commenting on this blog, are people. Practice kindness. Practice generosity. Practice asking questions. Practice showing love. Practice being human. If your comment is rude, it will be deleted. If you are constantly negative, argumentative, or bullish, you will not be able to comment anymore. We are the sole moderators of the combox.