Ultimate Need
Soul hunger is hard to define. Harder yet is knowing what we really need, instead of what we think we need. The soul does amazing things. It directs thoughts; it nudges us in the directions we need to go; it grieves our mistakes; it watches us from a distance while being central to all that happens to us. Words cannot describe its capacities. It hungers, but cannot be filled with food. Most of us ignore it until it is starved into crisis mode.
The most difficult question you will ever answer is: “What do you ultimately need?” We think we know, but we endlessly settle for substitutes that range from distractions to hyper-indulgences. The quest drives the economy of goods and services, but we usually end the day with that same sense of “something is missing.”
Small children can answer the question and generally act out the answers. They sleep when they need to sleep. They eat when they need to eat. They play. For them, imagination is not something that requires reach. It is right there with them — ready to express the needs and desires of the pure soul. Learn from them.
What I need and what I think I need are two different things. The ego creates the chasm. It “thinks” it knows the answer before the soul is able to express its desires. No wonder there is so much frustration in the land of plenty. We substitute noise for silence — things for stillness.
Get to know your soul. It does not feed off the same things that your body or ego might crave. In Jesus’ words: “Hunger and thirst for righteousness” — and see if you are not becoming one of the blessed that has learned to feed the soul first. Sometimes we are hungry for protein; occasionally we crave a truly novel idea. Deep down inside, what we really want is to be one with God. We crave the sense of being what the Universe designed us to be.
There are no adequate substitutes.
