Longing

We live in a state of constant longing. The current moment seems never to be enough. When we've reached one thing, we immediately long for something else. The grass is always greener on the other side. The main idea here is that we are wanting: always and for something. But what are we longing for?

Our yearning is a sensation we have a hard time describing. It is something that surrounds us but still we are not able to explain it exactly. Longing is something formless that encircles us. It is a notion in us that seeks existence and expression through us. One could say that longing uses us as its vehicle for material existence.

In practice, this means that we project our yearning for a physical or tangible form. We attach our desires for some objects or objectives. Depending on the circumstances, it can be a person we are missing, a better job, our own apartment, our spouse, wealth, or an occupation, to name a few. No matter the subject, the important point is that for us, it is something concrete. We have a hard time separating the object from the subject. We mark the object of the longing and start to regard it as the means of improving our state of being (i.e., our inner condition).

We are all familiar with the results. The instant we have achieved that something that we wanted, we are after something else. We are not satisfied, which was the whole purpose of the issue. Now we are after something else. So, what actually happens?

Longing makes us active. It drives us to experience and face different challenges in life. What would happen if we would not long for anything? Nothing. But there would not be much progress either. If no one is either after or lacking anything, because longing implies a condition where the subject is incomplete and seeks the missing component, nothing would improve or change.

It is important to identify this continuous process we are going through. One should realize that longing is not "us"— we can never become fulfilled by any means outside of our inner being. Therefore, if we can see through this longing and ignore its quest, we are already closer to being "complete." We are not running around and reaching for something illusionary. All we need to do is to identify our behavioral patterns and make conscious actions instead of commit blind obedience. How about reaching for nonlonging?