Journal Prompts #12: On Yearning
Kramer asked, 'do you ever yearn?'
Grab a journal. Even if you think you don’t want to or it feels hard, I promise it will deliver. Pen to paper, it is old school, it is nostalgic, it is something to see the ink or that pencil point meet the page, it is not nothing and that is something these days.
Surprise yourself with your answers in your journal. As always, so optional.
There is a quote in the hit TV show, Seinfeld where Kramer asks George Costanza over a café diner table, “do you ever yearn?”. Kramer is about to make a huge cross country move to from NYC to LA because he yearns the stage to act. If you recall his acting debut with ‘these pretzels are making me thirsty’ and he is thirsty for more.
I cannot stop thinking about the question when I think of being seated across from Kramer and him asking me about yearning.
Because I yearn.
George said he didn’t yearn.
But I do.
I yearn for structure. Even more, I yearn for consistency these days. More than I can ever recall, I yearn for a set of rituals I can count on at a similar time each day/week. I yearn for deep solace in the morning with a cup of coffee. I yearn for clarity in my purpose. I yearn for Mother Earth to be in our conversations so much more. I yearn for time to slow down and for time to speed up. I yearn for the crisp air of Autumn on an 88 degree day in September. I yearn for self trust when I keep stumbling to self doubt. I yearn.
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Grab a journal, grab a pen.
Do you allow yourself to yearn? If so, what is it that you yearn for?
What does yearning feel like in your body?
What are three shifts (be it in your mind or in your practices) you could make today to lean into what you yearn?
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RESOURCES:
“Practice yearning by constantly rekindling your desire through seeking, study, and devotion. Notice who and what pulls you. Honor the fluid, boundless, and timeless qualities of this faculty. Allow yourself to reach for fulfillment….” READ: Yearning as a Spiritual Practice
READ: Yearning Poems on Hello Poetry
LISTEN:
WATCH:
Wow Jacki you nailed this for me today! YEARNING! What a great word! I’ve been yearning big time and feeling so out of sorts because I didn’t realize it! Journaling today has given me perspective & BTW your list of yearning matches mine! My 3: 1. Silence/living consciously 2. Move 3. Shorten my daily to do list and enjoy each task ❤️
Yes I yearn.
I yearn for professional success that fulfills my purpose and benefits my family financially. I feel it deep in my bones. It feels like longing it feels like a bird trying to fly and not knowing how.
I yearn daily for deep soulful connection.
I yearn for coffee in the morning, preferably made by someone else.
I yearn for structure that lands the groundwork for connection, creativity and courage.
I yearn for the peace and stillness of the house when everyone is tucked in their beds safely in our home.
I yearn for adventure, exploring new places, new ideas and new ways of thinking.
I yearn for fall and stepping outside and needing to ask if I need an extra layer.
I yearn for my children's happiness.
practices:
biggest practice is to allow the yearning and shift it from it being a negative to actually being a connection to my truest most natural desire. I have a tendancy to yearn without action which leads to exhaustion and giving up on the yearning. A practice I can see here is to feel the body sensation and to keep moving toward yearning and the accompanying action (if any).
About to sign off and when I was thinking about this I was thinking of the yearning I see on my dog's face as she sits before she's fed. I can see the pure desire, joy and yearning on her face. To be that excited is a gift. Where I think humans go off the rails is to deny the yearning that fills the soul. WE're so conditioned as a society to fill the yearning that doesn't fill our soul (the OVER'ing - scrolling, drinking, eating, spending).
Yearning that fuels the soul.