In today’s fast-paced world, where everyone is constantly pursuing something, feeling lost has become all too common. If you've ever experienced an undefined yearning, it’s called longing, and it’s not a weakness—it’s a reflection of your humanity.
Many people connect longing to unresolved trauma, viewing it as something broken that needs to be fixed. However, longing is not solely about pain; it’s a profound, natural desire for connection.
Intuitive Somatic guide Mishell Latour explains that longing is linked to grief, serving as a mechanism for our bodies to release stress. That sensation in your chest? It's your body finishing a stress response, releasing accumulated cortisol through tears. Instead of seeing it as a problem, what if we acknowledged and honored it?
We heal in connection
Healing does not happen in isolation. It happens in relationships; romantic, platonic, familial, and communal. The way we connect with friends, and family play a role in our well-being. But here’s the thing: longing does not mean losing yourself.
You can desire a deep connection while still being present in your life. You can want love without feeling like something is missing. That ache for companionship does not mean you are incomplete. It simply means you are human.
Longing for something does not mean you have to sink into it or let it pull you back into unhealthy patterns. Healing does not come from waiting for someone else to fill the void. It comes from recognizing that longing is not something to fix; it is something to feel.
So instead of asking, Why do I still feel this way? Is this just my past trauma resurfacing?
What if you simply allowed yourself to feel it? Because the goal is not to eliminate longing. The goal is to hold it while staying present. To feel both the ache and the beauty of what’s already here. To know that grief and gratitude, longing and joy, can coexist.
Your longing is not a weakness, but a proof that you are alive!
Source: Hindustan Times
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
