Longing as Love That Doesn't Die

Mirabai's entire spiritual life was organized around longing—missing Krishna, yearning for union, the sweet ache of devotion. She did not try to resolve this longing but instead made it sacred. For grieving children, the pangs of missing someone can feel unbearable. Mirabai offers a different lens: longing is not pathology but evidence of love. The ache of missing your parent, sibling, or friend is proof that they mattered profoundly. Rather than trying to eliminate the longing—to "get over it"—children can learn to hold it as a tender, sacred space. Some days the longing will be overwhelming; other days it will be a quiet presence. Both are expressions of continuing love. When a child misses someone intensely, we can say: this ache is your love speaking. You miss them because they were important. That longing will likely never fully disappear, and that's not a problem to solve—it's a testament to how deeply you loved. Mirabai teaches us that longing, like devotion, can be a lifelong practice of honoring someone no longer physically present.