Inconsolable Longing
Introduction: Some years ago, a man made a significant statement after he had won the world title in body building. He said that he had money and fame – he was on the top, the pinnacle of his career, but it did not satisfy a hunger in his heart.
St Augustine said, “Our souls are restless until we find our rest in Thee”. An inconsolable longing in us…..
A longing that money cannot satisfy… how much? - --just a little more, never enough.
A longing that fame cannot satisfy... famous, rich people committing suicide e.g. Marilyn Monroe died of an overdose of barbiturates. She was only 36 years old!
A longing that pleasure-seeking cannot appease, similar to the law of diminishing returns (“law of diminishing returns ‘any rate of profit, production, benefits, etc., that beyond a certain point fails to increase proportionately with added investment, effort, or skill.”)
A longing that human companionship and love cannot appease… (my wife/husband /children/friends don’t always understand me, even though they love me)
In every human being, whether we are aware of it or not, there is a deep longing, an inconsolable longing and this has been there since the beginning of time.
I would like to explore, with you, this deep longing, this yearning in two ways; Inconsolable longing in history and an awareness of our own personal journey.
THE JOURNEY OF HUMANKIND: We have moved through various stages; one author defined them as - The magical stage, the materialistic stage, and the mystical stage.
In the magical stage people were aware that there was a powerful spiritual force and because they had no knowledge or insight they feared this ‘force’ and this gave rise to many taboos, rituals and sacrifices, for example, In Mexico before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, the Aztecs offered human sacrifices to the sun god, a practice that took as many as 20,000 lives a year (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopaedia, vol 23, p 60). An awareness of God but did not know him and therefore feared Him.
The magical stage gave way to the materialistic stage where people rejected anything that they could not prove. This was tragically emphasized by the astronaut who claimed that he had been out in space and saw no sign of God. The materialistic view -I cannot see or prove it, therefore, it does not exist. We are still emerging from this stage at present and, to a certain degree, we are still locked into this belief.
The mystical stage has emerged because the hunger for transcendence has been suppressed. There is a deep, and often not acknowledged, hunger for meaning, and meaningful contact with our Creator. Our spirits are rebelling against the lack of recognition and acknowledgement of our souls. Out of this hunger various spiritual practices have emerged; some have led to authentic, deep and life-enriching belief systems; however, many have been seduced into harmful teachings and practices.
What are you and I longing for in the depth of our being?
