There is superficial desire and there is sacred longing. When you fulfil a superficial desire, sooner or later the emptiness you felt beforehand returns and another desire pops up to take the place of the one just fulfilled. A never ending loop of emptiness-fulfilment-emptiness.
But when sacred longing is fulfilled, the emptiness is banished and the longing ends.
We are a world in desperate need of fulfilling our sacred longings. One of the great challenges, however, is that for the most part, we are not even aware that there is a sacred longing beneath the emptiness we feel. We might not even realise there is an emptiness inside us crying out to be tended. We are a culture that has travelled so far from what is sacred. All we know to do is to reach for the next superficial fix.
The good news is that superficial desire can, eventually, reveal the sacred longing beneath. If we go through the emptiness-fulfilment-emptiness cycle enough times, something in us can awaken to the fact that we’re not really getting anything from it. This seems to take some time, but once we realise that we’re about to embark on another journey leading to another dead end, we start to look more deeply. This is how the journey to revealing our sacred longings begins. Or at least, it is one way that journey can begin.
A sacred longing is a longing in the direction of wholeness. It is a call from the soul to bring us individually and collectively back into the natural rhythm of life. It is a longing that puts us back in our true place as part of, not separate from, nature. It is a longing that wants to praise and take care of the earth and for all beings to be taken care of.
To get out, out into the wilds of nature; to gaze at the moon and the stars; to gather and sing, dance and share stories; to feel a connection to the food we eat; to feel the earth beneath our feet; to put the health of people and planet before profit; to be authentically ourselves, offering our unique gifts in service of the whole; to be in community with others who understand and support us; to feel gratitude and joy for the day – these are all sacred longings.
Though we have travelled far from the reality of these things, there is, I believe, a shift underway. We are becoming aware of the deeper, sacred longings within us. People and communities everywhere, in their own unique ways, are working to bring us back into contact with the sacred nature of life.
A sacred longing can be felt like the powerful and mysterious beat of the ancient drum, a sound and a rhythm that reverberates through our entire being, steadily and unwaveringly calling us home to ourselves, to one another and to the earth.
What sacred longings are living deep in your heart? How might you begin to honour those longings or honour them more deeply?
Love and courage,
Leah
P.S. Held, the women’s circle I’m hosting through the autumn and winter months, was born out of a longing to create a sacred space of sisterhood. A longing to create a space of deep connection where it would be safe to freely express the truth of how you see and feel the world and to honour the deepest callings, joys and sorrows of your heart. A space to sit together and weave a web of supportive friendship to nourish and support you through the darker months of the year.
There are three places left in Held and we begin on the 12th October. If there is a sacred longing in your heart to connect with a group of like-hearted women, I would love you to join us. I realise these things can feel equally enticing and scary so let me reassure you that you will be welcomed in with the greatest warmth. With the three women who have already joined, I can say you will be in the best of company. You can find all the details here.
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