Yearning

We all have yearning in us. Yearning tends to connect with the most basic of desires. Love. Growth. Being seen, heard, witnessed. Contributing. Perhaps it is as simple as it is for this broken poinsettia stem, resting in a glass of water — yearning to bring life.

On the weekend I co-hosted a group with Quanita Roberson — it was people interested in our Fire & Water Leadership Journey and Rite of Passage. A key question we asked of them was, “what is some of the yearning that brings you to exploring a journey like this (cohort begins February 2021)?”

I love questions that invite and invoke yearning. To me, yearning is more than a want. It’s more than casual. It has commitment in it. It has longing in it. I continue to learn that to form community around what is deep enough to be called yearning, is a good step.

Also on the weekend, I found myself writing prose into my journal. I was following a tone of yearning. I was also using language of “I pray” and “God” which are quite unresolved things for me, but nonetheless, come from my belly.

There was a time in my life, as a kid, when “pray” meant “down on my knees, eye’s closed, arms folded.” Sometimes it is that way for me these days. More often, however, prayer is sitting quietly in slow breath. Or prayer is a walk. Or prayer is just a moment to be still, emptied enough to listen to the yearning that breathes within me.

It is yearning that has waking power in it. As individuals. And in groups. Today, I offer some of my journey with yearning from the prose of the weekend.

I pray
that God is present with me,
that source is always direct.

I pray
that my gestures in life are enough,
with friends, family, colleagues, and strangers.

I pray
that my friendships are genuine and lasting,
oriented to creating life.

I pray 
that love finds each of us,
to move our hearts.

I pray
that ease of heart rests upon each of us,
to help us come to know flow.

I pray
that my body be strong enough to fulfill this journey,
aged yes, but rejuvenated with awakeness.

I pray
that I will will remain celebratory,
in the big, the small, and the unfinished things.

Here’s to how any of us touch our own yearning, and welcome it with others.