With the surge of wa~es breaking on the bcach， ou<br > ~alk alonc with your thoughts as a pallid moon spangles the<br > ~vatcr. l，onclincss crccps in， slithering silently into your being:<br > memories of lost causes， lost lo ，c， lost opportuni(ics. Within<br > ~ou there is a bittcrswcet entanglcmcnt with the past， full ()1t"<br > lcndcr regrets， emccloping you in a melancholy that will not<br > let wm go. "1 hat kind of hmcliness is the lot ~t onc time or<br > other of all scnsitie human beings. It is a[most taken for<br > granted in spite of the sadncss of our solitude.<br > 1 hc loves of yesteryear are dormant or dead. Some x~ hom<br > ~c adored arc gone and wc remain with our little world<br > ~oundcd but soznchow strangely enriched b the pain asso-<br > ciatcd with that kind of loneliness.<br > But wc arc pa~ ticularly concerned here with a common and<br > m~llignant form of lonelincss， that which is perpctuatcd<br > through unwise action， compulsive thoughts and habits， and<br > ，sclt -dcluating behavior that so painfully alienates one from<br > others and the world. lhc person is alone， discouraged<br > becatisc he feels an Jntriider， casting a ncgati +c shadow bcfolc<br >him. 11 nfortunatcly， others fulfill the lonely person s prophecy<br >of rc~iCclh)n. And in fact who warlts to associate ~ith a llOi--<br >Oils bore whoso opinion of himsclf is characteriicd bv timid-<br >it + and shyness， yet who protects a touch-me-not ~iititude<br >because he seems to avoid fun， spontaneity， and frankness in<br >hiznlail relationships ?<br > t~svchoh)gists and psychialrists have proposed t<ari()ils<br >CatlSCS aild cures for loneliness. ()flen one is kit odds wilt)<br ><~ihcrs in the social sciences， perhaps each infhicnced by his<br >~~v~li specialty or inclinations， his basic philosoph ofhuman<br >relationships. It Intist not be lorgottcn that over t~ +.o hundred<br >