Longing Belonging

The longing
goes back
to moments
past.

To moments
caught in
photos,
smells,
and music
that replay
the
memories
we long for
now.

The longing
goes forward
to moments
imagined.

To moments
to catch
and hold
that create
the
memories
we long for
now.

The longing
is in the moment
now
with all it’s
sadness
and
hope.

And all along
I long to be,
and to
… belong.

A play of two words — Longing and Belonging — that emerged, and merged today after listening to Susan Cain’s profound TED Talk about … longing.

I can totally identify when Susan says:

but I have come to believe
that really, what we are craving,
at bottom,
is that state of longing,
that joy that’s laced with sorrow.
Which is often triggered
when we experience something so exquisite
that it seems to come to us from some other world.
And this is why we give painters and rock stars
such exalted status.
Because they’re the ones who bring us the breath of magic
from that other place.
Except it only lasts a moment,
and we really want to live there for good.
Because we know that we live in a deeply flawed world.
And we have this stubborn conviction
that we come from a perfect and beautiful one
that remains forever out of reach.
And maybe that sounds depressing to you,
but this state of mind,
this longing,
is actually the deep source
of all our moonshots and our loves.
It’s because of longing
that we play “Moonlight Sonatas”
and build rockets to Mars.
And it’s because we’re all in this same strange state of exile
that we have the capacity to empathize with each other in the first place.

…..

In Hebrew, the word for longing, leh-heesh-toh-kek,
it comes from the same word,
from the same root,
as the word for passion.
The place you suffer is the same exact place
where you care desperately.
It’s the same place that inspires you to ease someone’s pain however you can.
And it’s the place that you vibrate
with the insane beauty of this world.
So, remember, there’s light and there’s dark.
And when the dark times come,
and they will come,
don’t be surprised,
but ask yourself: What are you longing for?
And follow your longing where it’s telling you to go.
It’s pointing you in the direction of the sacred.

… and so the question for me (and us) to answer is:

What do I/ we long for?

For me …

It’s connection.
It’s the feeling of helping others.
It’s in creating moments of realisation,
and beauty and joy and togetherness
It’s in the smiles and the tears.
It’s in the hugs.

It’s in creating a trail of moments that matter, with each other.

Love and hugs
Mick