Longings. What are they? Where do they come from? Why are the so very powerful? I find myself considering these questions over and over lately. The powerful desire for adventure. The unsettling wonderment of uncontrollable overwhelm when I hear a beautiful voice. The aching of wanting to be the first to leave so that I don’t have to suffer loss. Dread. Butterflies. The anticipation of someone at your door. Want consumes us.
Language Cannot Define Our Longings, Really
Did you know that there are dozens of words in languages from Korean to Inuit for different types of longings? All of them are untranslatable. Wanting is chaos.
I’m fascinated by the attempt in single, beautiful words to capture emotions. Emotions that are, by their very existence, constantly eluding us. Longings are the captors—sometimes in suffering, sometimes of joy. They are never the captives.
People spend much of their lives trying to satisfy that nagging sense of something more. They chase it. Often, it owns us.
Like right now, I have a nagging sense that exploring want is something I need to do. 🙂 Why? I don’t know. That’s the nature of longing.
Over the next few months, I’ll be finishing up a collection of short stories and poetry. I’m hoping to have it ready for all of you this summer. In the mean time, check out all of these interesting words for longing and the fiery power of want.
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