Sacred Longing

I attended a wonderful Unity workshop last weekend on peacemaking. One of the facilitators introduced the idea of sacred longing, which was new to me and intriguing. I love the idea of it, because it describes a very holy gift in our human experience.

Sacred longing is that deep, persistent need to know the presence of God within us and in all things. It is the profound wisdom that leads us to seek to better understand ourselves, even when we are so busy with life’s details that without that intrinsic longing we would never even realize that there was more to our experience than we can see.

My spiritual path has most definitely been one of sacred longing. Throughout all of the circumstances of my life, relationships that came and went, ones that stayed, job changes, things that were important to me for their time and then faded as new interests emerged, the longing has remained constant. At times its voice was loud and insistent, and I took very definite and intentional actions to learn more about my spiritual nature. I actively sought out philosophies and teachers that felt right. Big jumps in my understanding happened during those times.

At other times, the voice of sacred longing was quieter, not urging me toward big changes but to gentle shifts in my awareness. In those times I felt the need to slow down and listen more, both to my own thoughts and feelings, and to the subtleties of others’ expression.

To me, sacred longing reflects that part of us that is always on our perfect path, no matter what chaos our personal growth may be creating in the moment. It is the beacon within that guides us to the light, even as our human experience feels disconnected from the light. Once we become aware of the unquenchable thirst of longing to know the divine, we must open ourselves to its gentle but insistent pull.

Sacred longing always knows the right next step, and its urgings are infinitely trustworthy. Even though it is not a roadmap indicating the exact twists and turns that we will make, it keeps us moving ever forward in the right direction, and we are never lost.

May you recognize and heed the pull that is your sacred longing, the voice of God leading you unerringly home, and may this tool be a blessing. . .