Longing as Spiritual Practice

Mirabai's poetry overflows with longing: for union with the divine, for truth, for freedom. Yet this longing was not depressive—it was generative, a fire that sustained her through hardship. Longing differs from despair: despair assumes the desired future is impossible; longing holds possibility open while acknowledging present separation. For anticipatory grief, longing becomes a crucial practice. We can long for a civilization that chooses differently, that wakes up, that stewards itself wisely—not from denial about how unlikely this seems, but from genuine care about what's possible. This longing, properly cultivated, doesn't paralyze; it motivates. It keeps the heart open. Mirabai teaches that longing is itself a form of prayer, a way of staying aligned with what matters. Rather than trying to eliminate the ache of caring about civilization's future, bhakti invites us to make that ache sacred, to let longing become the substance of our spiritual practice.