It has been said that there is no sense of loneliness greater than the loneliness of a great city. Without the understanding of the one Mind, as taught in Christian Science, even one's normal faculty of safe and sane thinking would there seem sometimes to be taken from him, and a sense of fear, confusion, and friendlessness substituted as a result of the hurry, noise, and self-centered interest of commercial activities. But however isolated one may feel in the midst of onrushing humanity, this false sense of loneliness is only a different phase of the same belief of loneliness that may be experienced in the small town or in the country. It is the result of wrong thinking, and is not dependent upon geographical location nor necessarily upon the absence of human companionship.
With the dawning of Truth in consciousness, this seeming aloneness begins to disappear; one finds friendliness in faces, in voices, in trees, and in birds. One now looks for expressions of divine activity, for service and cheer everywhere; and one assuredly finds that for which he is looking, and hears that for which he is listening. The artist is apt to detect the glint of sunshine which illumines a bit of beauty perhaps in a gloomy corner of the courtyard; and the naturalist to hear the chirp of a cricket amidst the roar of city traffic. As Christian Scientists, we are seeing more of man and the universe as God's reflection, wherever we may be, and rejoicing in the happiness and freedom which result from this recognition.
When Abraham was called to go out into a "strange country," the Scriptures tell us that "he went out, not knowing whither he went." Later, we are assured that he was not alone as he seemed to be; for, being the "Friend of God," he was conscious of ever present Love. In learning to be a friend of God, we find satisfying friendship in every position or condition in which we may be placed. This friendship does not depend upon what some one else does or says. It is a divine relationship finding expression; and one cannot be deprived of its comfort and inspiration, if he realizes that the law of Love is ever operative, and that it is his privilege and duty to be ever conscious of his unity with divine Love.
