Longing

longing

We all have longings. And though they may be different, they all contribute towards stretching us. Pointing growth-wards.

Indeed emergence is intrinsically bound up with longing. Without it, there is no reason to lean towards the light. Or step across an invisible boundary that hems us in.

Life and longing are the warp and weft of the cloth of our being. Take one away and we are nothing. A mere shadow in two dimensions.

Longing is uncomfortable. It points to dissatisfaction or lack. We can’t smother over, or undo its presence in our lives.

Instead, we have to learn to embrace it. To cherish its primal work in us.

A blessing: for longing

John O’Donohue’s insightful book of blessings – Benedictus – includes one for longing.

Initially, I was surprised to see it. You don’t normally talk about such things. But then, as I have let it lead me into new territory within myself, I’ve started to see it for what it is. A living aspect of our human-ness. To be honoured and acknowledged, and be heard.

For longing

Blessed be the longing that brought you here 

And quickens your soul with wonder.

 

May you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire 

That disturbs you when you have settled for something safe.

 

May you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease

To discover the new direction your longing wants you to take.

 

May the forms of your belonging – in love, creativity and friendship 

Be equal to the grandeur and the call of your soul.

 

May the one you long for long for you.

 

May your dreams gradually reveal the destination of your desire.

 

May a secret Providence guide your thought and nurture your feeling.

 

Make your mind inhabit your life with the sureness with which your body inhabits the world.

 

May your heart never be haunted by ghosts-structures of old damage.

 

May you come to accept your longing as divine urgency.

 

May you know the urgency with which God longs for you.

~ John O’Donohue in Benedictus, Bantam Press 2007

May this blessing seek deep into our souls, releasing us for whatever is to come.

Thanks for reading

Sue

This week

Has continued to emerge, including a re-drafting of the manifesto – see below.

Revised manifesto

Thanks to all those who offered such powerful insights into the last draft. How does this revision land?

Quiet Disruptors – it’s time to change the conversation

Have you noticed? We’re shifting from one era to the next. From the modern, industrial age where there were linear, ‘right’ answers, to a complex, interconnected and unpredictable world. Where what we do affects who others become and impacts our whole environment.

We need different voices. People with fresh things to say who don’t need to shout.

Not just super-heroes with confident gestures. Nor the loud, always-on culture, with quick answers that offer attractive sticking plasters, yet fail to see what comes next or why we are doing it anyway.

But the thoughtful change-makers who look from the edge and craft their responses. Who want to make a difference, differently. Not just for today.

Because more of the same won’t do.

So now is your time to shift the conversation. To become the change you want to see by finding your people, uncovering your voice and creating the space where you can thrive.

Because only people make change. And change emerges with people who have the courage to be different. Who have something fresh to say.

So let’s create space for the quiet disruptors:

  • who think before they speak;
  • who ask questions we’d sometimes rather not face;
  • who create solutions we hadn’t expected;
  • who see more from the edge, than the centre, and make connections that surprise us;
  • who are driven to make a difference, but want to do it differently, with grace;
  • who get their energy from calm reflection, beautiful ideas, and taking the long view;
  • who exercise kindness, generosity and stubborn courage in pursuing a different way of looking, being and doing that can turn our world upside down – for the better.

Quiet Disruptors. Because we need to change the conversation, for good.