Hunger

There are different kinds of hunger. And I don't mean actual physical hunger to nourish our bodies, but the kinds of hunger that drive us mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

There’s the kind of hunger that’s mostly defined in reference to others. It is greatly concerned with appearances, and with proving something to others. When we’re young, many of us feel this kind of hunger; we want to prove that we’re “somebody”, that we’ve “made it”, according to some pre-determined, socially accepted standard. This kind of hunger leaves us empty and hard. It makes us feel lonely on a fundamental level. It can never be satisfied nor satisfy.

This is not the kind of hunger I am talking about.

There’s another kind of hunger. This kind has no reference point other than yourself; or rather, something undefinable within yourself. This something drives you in a continual reaching out towards life, an opening, a freeing from dogmas and other artificial boundaries. This is a hunger to know the essence of things and of yourself. It cannot ever be fully satisfied either, but the process of trying to satisfy it is in itself fulfilling. This is the hunger that feeds the fires of creativity, and drives us to expand beyond ourselves.

I’ve known both kinds of hunger; I am grateful for knowing and being able to mostly distance myself from the first one as it began to feel too heavy, and take too great of a toll on me. And I am also grateful to know the second kind, which has been inspiring me and allowing me to feel close to life in a way I couldn’t envision before experiencing it.

Peace