A dear friend of mine posted a quote to my Facebook page today, prefaced with these words: “Read this tonight in my studies and thought of you!”
Desire is the absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility.
(Wendy Farley, The Wounding and Healing of Desire: Weaving Heaven and Earth)
The only thing more beautiful than this quote is the title of the book from which it came. It’s not (yet) on my shelf, my bedside table, or accompanying me back and forth in the car each day; but clearly it needs to be!
Kimberly knows me well. She is right: the quote is perfect for me. It speaks to what I talk about all the time; what I most believe in, want, and pursue: desire. Can one desire desire? If so, that’s totally me!
In the midst of Lent, this season of reflection, of desert wandering, of naming shadow, suffering, and places of struggle, it’s significant to note that none would hold any weight, any meaning, any impact if desire weren’t in the mix.
- Shadow wouldn’t haunt if desire weren’t present.
- Suffering wouldn’t hurt if desire weren’t powerful.
- Struggle wouldn’t endure if desire didn’t persevere.
If this is true, than our questions and doubts matter. If this is true, then faith can flourish. If this is true, then all that we barely dare whisper in hope is what enables any of it to come to be. If this is true than we can make total fools of ourselves – absurdity personified.
If this is true then desire is what matters most.
Desire – full, rich, embodied, juicy, named, pursued, and alive is the key to it all; to possibility, to faith, to love, to life, to infinity…and beyond!
Read it one more time as breathed, lived, embodied prayer:
Desire is the absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility.
Music to my deepest soul. I most definitely desire. Much. Always. Infinitely.
For your reflection:
- Only one question: Will you name your desire(s)?
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I admire this. I’ve been trying for months…years even…to name my desire. Perhaps it’s desire that I desire. Interesting idea.
Most of us have been trained (through various methods and messages) that desire is bad – or at least dangerous. In its most honest and powerful form, I totally disagree! Desire! Desire! Desire! Do not hold back. The underlying themes, your “secret” wishes and hopes, even if unarticulated: they are the deepest, truest you! And that’s hardly bad: that’s ALL good, wild beauty!
Ronna, I feel your desire on fire between your words. It’s in the transmission of your message. Longing, yearning, aching, throbbing desire.
.-= Julie´s last blog ..This More Human Love =-.
It’s all there…and all good! Thanks, Julie.
Ronna, my desire is to learn from amazing women like you! I am so behind in your posts – I’ve been missing out! I got pulled back in today, unable to resist the desire to read, to learn, to think, to search the desert, to feel. And, oh, I am so glad I did!
Last week, I tried to spend less time online, less time reading the blogs I LOVE to read. I had been feeling guilty about the amount of time I’ve been spending online; quenching my thirst with others like me that are wanting to “BE”. I felt guilty about the amount of time I was spending building my new online biz that I am so passionate about that it keeps me awake at night. I was feeling like I was neglecting what I “should” be doing. So much guilt and in the end, resentment, because I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do!
Like you say, “desire is what matters most”! No one is telling me I can’t do this. No one is telling me to stop being passionate about the new direction my life is taking. No one is telling me not to feed my desire! No one, that is, except me.
My desire is to be all that I can be, to do what I love, to be passionate about my life, to have the faith to carry on & pursue my dreams. My desire is to be loved for the woman that I am, not pretending to be someone I’m not.
Thank you Ronna, thank you yet again for helping me, for teaching me that I’m OK, that I have my own permission to do what I desire.
.-= Shawna Cevraini´s last blog ..Happiness Project Update =-.
My smile got bigger and bigger as I read this, Shawna. Yes! Pursue the desires. They won’t lead you astray.
Thank you. I was thinking heavily on this the other day. That desire is not only a reality but necessary to be a full human being. I am not sure when or how we as women were taught that our desires are bad and shoud be supressed or why we felll for it . For me, acknowledging this is a key step in my journey of coming out of a dark space and into the light of my being.
I am so glad to have found your site. Faith and Feminism are both important to me and it is wonderful to find a kindred spirit and guide. You are absolutely wonderful!!
.-= Erika´s last blog ..These Boots Are Made For….. =-.
I have a TON of ideas as to the why “we as women were taught that our desire are bad and should be suppressed or why we fell for it.” Regardless of the reasons, it’s a true thing. Now the work for all of us is to overcome, right? To desire. To want. To be!!! Thanks Erika! SO glad you’re here…
Why name desire when it will only lead to ambivalence, despair and heart ache? It is cruel to awaken someone to desire – only to tell them it is illicit and toxic.
My response is within my next blog post. It’s such a huge question – with answers that have such huge ramifications. ‘Needs more attention and care than I can give it here. And chances are that if it’s your question, Rebecca, it’s others’ as well. Thanks for being brave enough to ask it.
i like the way you and wendy farley deduce, my friend. there’s an affirming clarity in your words here. the first part, about the absurdity of desires . . . well, that’s easy because that’s what i’ve always been taught. desires are selfish and absurd and to be avoided at all costs – period. the end. and the part about infinity of possibilities – oh i’ve known that for a long time. i just never put them together in the same sentence using “holds open” as the glue. this is big.
.-= whollyjeanne´s last blog ..rightful sound =-.
I agree: it feels big. And given the question another posed regarding the acknowledgment of desire just being a big set up for pain, I can see it even more clearly. More blog posts brewing…thinking more about Eve, how we’ve been taught/trained to understand desire, and how desperately we need those faulty lenses shattered and new ones created/invited. Thanks, Jeanne.
“I have a TON of ideas as to the why “we as women were taught that our desire are bad and should be suppressed or why we fell for it.” ”
I hope you’ll talk more about this in future blog posts, Ronna. I think it’s subtle and sick, and desperately needs light shined upon it! Especially in regards to how it fleshes itself out inside the walls of faith communities. But, I digress….
.-= lauren martin gauthier´s last blog ..Sunday =-.
Absolutely more to come…thinking of writing about such even tonight!
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