Michelle has many friends. They call her often. She also has a devoted family. Michelle is only alone when she chooses to be, and she is never lonely. This has always been the way for her. Since childhood, she has never lacked for companionship.

Karen has just the opposite experience of life. She makes friends but loses them quickly. She seldom contacts her family, mainly because they often argue about small things. Loneliness is habitual for her. Even when she is with other people, she feels lonely because she can't feel a connection with them.

Ramon is shy. He opens up to people slowly and sometimes likes and trusts them. But he is never quite sure of his relationships. He wants to reach out more but is never quite sure of other people. He is often lonely, but sometimes enjoy wonderful companionship. Unfortunately these moments of bonding are not frequent and he spends a lot of time reminiscing on true friends who have since changed or moved away.

Some people live in a loving world. They are surrounded by family, friends, and well-wishers. They move in circles of affection that seem to expand over time.

Other people live in a hostile world. They spend lives full of broken relationships, forsaken trusts, and tarnished hopes. They lose touch with people quickly. They win new friends slowly, if at all.

Most people live in-between these worlds and many times they're not sure how they stand. The world to them is a shifting place, where boundaries blur and orientations change. They never quite feel comfortable in it. It's unpredictable. They embark on each relationship with doubt. Hesitation defines their world.

Now, the funny thing is this: it's the same world.

The world and it's people does not happen to us. We happen to it. We impact it silently with our thoughts and feelingsand obviously with our words, actions, and attitudes.

How do you move from a world of isolation to one of companionship?

Perhaps a song from The Sound of Music written by the unforgettable Oscar Hammerstein can clue us in.

A bell is no bell until you ring it,
A song is no song until you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn't put there to stay -
Love isn't love
Until you give it away.

You get from isolation to companionship by giving yourself away. You turn potentiality into actuality through self-sacrifice. Yet you never lose or have less because what you put out comes back to you multiplied.

Those who live in a loving world are natural givers. They give of their time, talent, and treasure. Others respond to them in kind.

Those who live in a hostile world oppose everyone and share little of themselves.

While those who live in a doubtful world wait in vain for others to warm up to them.

You choose, with every interaction, the world you live in.

Reaching out and touching someone's life in a positive way can be as simple as a smile.

When you give a little of yourself, you receive much more in return. It's a simple little secret that can brighten up the world and your life.

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