Longing as Spiritual Practice

Mirabai's longing for Krishna was not pathological yearning but the very fuel of her spiritual practice. She did not overcome or resolve her longing but instead inhabited it fully, letting it deepen her perception and connection. For grieving children, this reframes what Western psychology might pathologize as unhealthy attachment or unresolved grief. Instead, the ache of missing someone can become a practice: a moment to pause, to remember, to feel the particular texture of love. When a child feels the sudden sharp absence of the person who died, rather than trying to suppress or distract from that feeling, they might practice meeting it with full attention. What do they notice? What arises? This longing keeps the deceased alive in consciousness in a way that's neither denial nor dysfunction but rather a sustained, transformative devotion that honors both the person lost and the young person's capacity for deep love.