I just signed up as a subscriber because I have so enjoyed your free posts, and I want to take a deeper dive into more of your wonderful content. This article was the first I picked to read because I’ve always had a penchant for sad music that I can’t quite figure out. Dagger-to-the-heart blues music always fills me with far more joy than any celebratory pop song. As a musician and writer, this has at times perplexed people who read and listen to my work. Give me a character who’s put through the wringer, bloodied and bruised, but comes out on the other side with his soul intact, and I’m a goner. Total hopeless romantic for that. That sense of longing you discuss in your article has always been there for me. I never knew why in regards to that either, I just thought I was wired in a strange manner. But after reading your piece I realize as an artist, this longing and this ability to revel and find strength in pain and heartache is essential to my work. I cannot be a proper and honest artist if I’m not comfortable with every single emotion. With facing them willingly, so maybe (hopefully) I can help others face them too, as so many amazing artists have done for me over the years. Through this longing I have made music, written, and produced more than I ever could if I was simply content with my existence and the world as it is. So, your article left me with an empowered sense I have never felt before in regards to my inclination towards the dreary and the difficult. This perspective is a game-changer for me. Thank you for your enlightening essay, and I’m sure I’ll find much more enlightenment as I continue to read your work!
I don't have answers to any of your lovely questions - no idea what odyssey I'm on, where my home is, or how I'm going to get there. But there is something so resonant about longing in relation to spirituality and the search for the missing 'half' - the 'wild twin' in ancient myth - that you write about here. It reminded me of these words from Martha Beck on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast: "Our longing is the thing that has already happened to us, but we haven't caught up to it in time...[It is] loving something before we believe in it...It is our yearning that takes us forward toward our soul's desire."
I used to think that home was owning your own house. Five years ago this month, I sold the first and only home I've ever owned and also began a journey into self. Now, I know where Home truly is and it is in my conscious connection to the Divine. Never have I felt more Loved, adored or accepted. Homes can be beautiful and cozy, but they mean little if our souls are dislocated inside those walls.
Language of Souls speak to us in many ways, tugging, longing caressing are heartstring for some experiences become too Visceral to put into words. They go past the consciousness; straight into the heart depths of soulful ache, bliss, love, "The Chills"... For love cries as much as it rejoices... I feel sad songs bring us closer to the paradoxical realm of transcendence. Maybe the Longing, Ache, Tears we feel when such a visceral experience happen is a teacher of sorts bringing us closer to are true selves and Maybe we should take the mind out of it and just Viscerally Feel It , to are Core, feeding ours Souls the food it need to live while it here on earth ... 🎶
I have a slim volume with the title All Sickness is Homesickness. As a child I suffered from homesickness quite a bit. Even going to someone’s house for a sleepover could be fraught. I remember how Odysseus, after coming home to Penelope before he could stay and live in peace, according to a prophecy of Tiresias, he had to walk inland from a strange shore while carrying an oar, and when he got far enough so that no one knew what an oar was- they might think it was a winnowing blade, he had to plant the oar and sacrifice a boar, and then he was free to be at home in peace. What is that about? Possibly about not contracting at all in your search for home? I do tend to contract in my old age, I’ve noticed…
The questions this week took a lot of thought. There's nowhere that feels like home.
Home is me, though the wild places help me feel more like me.
So that makes my odyssey a quest to explore as much as possible with the intent to become a more expansive, more encompassing me. How do I get there. Abandon the responsibilities that I accepted through social and societal pressure before I understood who I really am. Which I won't let happen.
Sad music--oh, the minor chords! The songs of sorrow and longing. I am drawn to them. I love playing Moonlight Sonata. I love listening to my daughter play the score from Les Miserables. I do enjoy some upbeat music, too, like a good driving song on a warm, sunny day. But the melancholy music is what moves me most, and to which I feel connected. It's like food for my aching soul.
As I read your article and some responses here, I thought, what is home? You asked, where is your home? I kept thinking about that old saying, "Home is where the heart is." I don't know where it came from, but this little tidbit spilled out of me as I contemplated your questions and your post, Susan.
I've been asked a number of times what my favorite Beatles song was. My answer has always been The Long And Winding Road. I've never known anyone that has given that answer. Now I have more insight into why. Thank you.
“What we like are sad and beautiful things – the bitter together with the sweet” this reminds me the scientist of statstic principle professor Dr- Yousif at university when he said if life has only happy face, it does not make sense, so we love life because it also has a trouble face.
Reading this reminded me of a parallel in the movie “Inception.” [Not a spoiler…] In the movie, there were places people would go to be put into deep sleep for long periods of time, not so they could dream but rather so they could wake up and know what reality is.
Similarly, I tend to listen to happy music *when* I feel something; I listen to sad music *in order to* feel something.
Thank you very much for sharing your insightful vison and for creating this space where we can connect and empathize with one another.
For me, the odyssey involves recognizing the "known" - the history - while also delving into the "unknown" aspects of myself and the world around me, including other individuals and nature. From this exploration comes the opportunity to create and express ourselves through our attention and values. Home is where this journey finds its direction, where the exploration of the unknown and the act of creation intersect. It's in this space that one experiences a continuous flow of joy. By remaining open to the wonders of each individual and the world around us, we ultimately find our way back home.
To put this in greatly simplified terms, pain and its related emotions reside in the depths of our being, while "positive" emotions like joy may also have their roots within us, to me they represent expansion, moving upward and outward. I suppose we all need both.
I just signed up as a subscriber because I have so enjoyed your free posts, and I want to take a deeper dive into more of your wonderful content. This article was the first I picked to read because I’ve always had a penchant for sad music that I can’t quite figure out. Dagger-to-the-heart blues music always fills me with far more joy than any celebratory pop song. As a musician and writer, this has at times perplexed people who read and listen to my work. Give me a character who’s put through the wringer, bloodied and bruised, but comes out on the other side with his soul intact, and I’m a goner. Total hopeless romantic for that. That sense of longing you discuss in your article has always been there for me. I never knew why in regards to that either, I just thought I was wired in a strange manner. But after reading your piece I realize as an artist, this longing and this ability to revel and find strength in pain and heartache is essential to my work. I cannot be a proper and honest artist if I’m not comfortable with every single emotion. With facing them willingly, so maybe (hopefully) I can help others face them too, as so many amazing artists have done for me over the years. Through this longing I have made music, written, and produced more than I ever could if I was simply content with my existence and the world as it is. So, your article left me with an empowered sense I have never felt before in regards to my inclination towards the dreary and the difficult. This perspective is a game-changer for me. Thank you for your enlightening essay, and I’m sure I’ll find much more enlightenment as I continue to read your work!
I don't have answers to any of your lovely questions - no idea what odyssey I'm on, where my home is, or how I'm going to get there. But there is something so resonant about longing in relation to spirituality and the search for the missing 'half' - the 'wild twin' in ancient myth - that you write about here. It reminded me of these words from Martha Beck on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast: "Our longing is the thing that has already happened to us, but we haven't caught up to it in time...[It is] loving something before we believe in it...It is our yearning that takes us forward toward our soul's desire."
Ran into this newsletter/article by Oliver Burkeman - https://ckarchive.com/b/68ueh8hkxrx6lukq88gqmtz7vxkkk which beautifully encapsulates the spirit of bittersweet .
I used to think that home was owning your own house. Five years ago this month, I sold the first and only home I've ever owned and also began a journey into self. Now, I know where Home truly is and it is in my conscious connection to the Divine. Never have I felt more Loved, adored or accepted. Homes can be beautiful and cozy, but they mean little if our souls are dislocated inside those walls.
Language of Souls speak to us in many ways, tugging, longing caressing are heartstring for some experiences become too Visceral to put into words. They go past the consciousness; straight into the heart depths of soulful ache, bliss, love, "The Chills"... For love cries as much as it rejoices... I feel sad songs bring us closer to the paradoxical realm of transcendence. Maybe the Longing, Ache, Tears we feel when such a visceral experience happen is a teacher of sorts bringing us closer to are true selves and Maybe we should take the mind out of it and just Viscerally Feel It , to are Core, feeding ours Souls the food it need to live while it here on earth ... 🎶
Thanks for this. Great thought provoking questions at the end as well. I think of the concept of sehnsucht.
I have a slim volume with the title All Sickness is Homesickness. As a child I suffered from homesickness quite a bit. Even going to someone’s house for a sleepover could be fraught. I remember how Odysseus, after coming home to Penelope before he could stay and live in peace, according to a prophecy of Tiresias, he had to walk inland from a strange shore while carrying an oar, and when he got far enough so that no one knew what an oar was- they might think it was a winnowing blade, he had to plant the oar and sacrifice a boar, and then he was free to be at home in peace. What is that about? Possibly about not contracting at all in your search for home? I do tend to contract in my old age, I’ve noticed…
The questions this week took a lot of thought. There's nowhere that feels like home.
Home is me, though the wild places help me feel more like me.
So that makes my odyssey a quest to explore as much as possible with the intent to become a more expansive, more encompassing me. How do I get there. Abandon the responsibilities that I accepted through social and societal pressure before I understood who I really am. Which I won't let happen.
Kind of bittersweet.
Sad music--oh, the minor chords! The songs of sorrow and longing. I am drawn to them. I love playing Moonlight Sonata. I love listening to my daughter play the score from Les Miserables. I do enjoy some upbeat music, too, like a good driving song on a warm, sunny day. But the melancholy music is what moves me most, and to which I feel connected. It's like food for my aching soul.
As I read your article and some responses here, I thought, what is home? You asked, where is your home? I kept thinking about that old saying, "Home is where the heart is." I don't know where it came from, but this little tidbit spilled out of me as I contemplated your questions and your post, Susan.
Home
Nancy Brown
I walk a path towards myself
Inward
Seeking, listening
Who am I?
The path has narrowed
My soul
Awakening, emerging
Have I come home?
The journey continues
Onward
Marveling, embracing
I am my home
So lovely. I relate. Thank you.✨💞
I've been asked a number of times what my favorite Beatles song was. My answer has always been The Long And Winding Road. I've never known anyone that has given that answer. Now I have more insight into why. Thank you.
We long with fear.
We reach out to grasp with closed fists.
This is thecposture of the living.
“What we like are sad and beautiful things – the bitter together with the sweet” this reminds me the scientist of statstic principle professor Dr- Yousif at university when he said if life has only happy face, it does not make sense, so we love life because it also has a trouble face.
Reading this reminded me of a parallel in the movie “Inception.” [Not a spoiler…] In the movie, there were places people would go to be put into deep sleep for long periods of time, not so they could dream but rather so they could wake up and know what reality is.
Similarly, I tend to listen to happy music *when* I feel something; I listen to sad music *in order to* feel something.
I need to watch that again!
Thank you very much for sharing your insightful vison and for creating this space where we can connect and empathize with one another.
For me, the odyssey involves recognizing the "known" - the history - while also delving into the "unknown" aspects of myself and the world around me, including other individuals and nature. From this exploration comes the opportunity to create and express ourselves through our attention and values. Home is where this journey finds its direction, where the exploration of the unknown and the act of creation intersect. It's in this space that one experiences a continuous flow of joy. By remaining open to the wonders of each individual and the world around us, we ultimately find our way back home.
To put this in greatly simplified terms, pain and its related emotions reside in the depths of our being, while "positive" emotions like joy may also have their roots within us, to me they represent expansion, moving upward and outward. I suppose we all need both.