The Prompt:
Today, page 32 of Room to Write asks us to write about what we hunger for, be it literal or figurative. Something to consider as well are the experiences that either satisfy or intensify that hunger.
Response:
Physically, I hunger for cheese, bread, and chocolate in all their incarnations, yet emotionally…
…I hunger for purpose...for the sense that I am doing everything I could be doing to put my abilities to best use…for exerting the effort to live for others and not just myself…for finding the words that could possibly express the shades of meaning and atmosphere and convictions that I feel…for inspiration that will fill my pen and get my fingers tapping on the keyboard with direction again…for knowledge…for the deliciousness of knowing that I could never know everything—so learning will be lifelong—and yet always striving to attain the satisfaction of expertise…for the teachings and imaginations of others that set my mind free and move my heart to feel…I hunger to bring myself into focus against a background of others willing to fade into each other…for an equilibrium that will slow the clocks and speed my steps…for peace of mind that expectations are being met, including my own…for a synergy of intentions and actions…for simplicity and streamlining, a clearing of the clutter in my eyes and ears…for passion in everything I do yet the ability to know when to not care and put it to rest and for others to do the same…for recollection and holding close the memories that are dear or transforming…I hunger for family, for bedtime stories, for a front porch at dawn and dusk.
Reflection:
Primary factors that satisfy my hunger these days are writing, reading, and travel, as they constantly challenge me to reflect on who I am, what purpose I serve in light of what I ought to be, how my life/world-view might be reaffirmed or modified, and how I can continually work to improve myself intellectually and emotionally.
I find that these are also the factors that intensify my hunger, as I’m always left with an incomplete feeling of it never being enough, and I crave for more—more story line, better description, more countryside, better immersion into authentic culture…and where my travels home are concerned, one taste of hugging my parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews and kibitzing as usual with old friends is enough to turn me into an addict, leaving the pain of withdrawal ever looming on the horizon in the form of a return flight. Home is where I always felt full, so given everything I purged in moving abroad, my stomach and heart are left a bit emptier…there is a lot of fun to be had that suffices for a snack, but I’ve had to forage for alternative forms of true nourishment while feeling in a transitory state.
I don’t expect that what I hunger for is the same as anyone else, nor should it be. That’s why life offers us a menu of assorted cuisine to taste or send back to the chef as we please, a culinary cornucopia of needs and wants to digest, some of us stuffing our faces, some of us grazing, some of us piling it on, some of us liking it on the side…all of us hoping that the bill isn’t too high…and, of course, we all tip differently 😉
Are YOU hungry? Well then, welcome to McBlogComments; may I take your order?
The Fallen Monkey 
June 8th, 2010 at 19:36
Hmmm…well, I LOVE cheese and apples so that would take care of the physical hunger but emotionally, wow, that’s a good question. I’d say I hunger for daily inspiration to keep writing and for more places to visit so I can continue to be inspired. Like you, I find that travelling to other places helps keep my inspiration alive, though at other times, all I need to satisfy my hunger for inspiration is a walk through Hampstead Heath, which I suppose you could say it is like “home cooking” metaphorically speaking 🙂
June 9th, 2010 at 18:01
“Home cooking.” I adore that! I think that writers like you who are able see the extraordinary in the ordinary will always feast, be it in the backyard or on a mountaintop across the world. And mmmm, cheese and apples…
June 9th, 2010 at 05:29
I hunger for the contentment of putting my head on the pillow at night knowing I have made a difference to someone that day.
I hunger for the content of feeling that that was a day well lived.
I have a craving to find my “dharma” & the feeling of fullness that will bring.
I hunger for meeting and knowing inspiring people who will stimulate & aspire me in equal quantities.
I am fortunate in the realisation that I have the ability & knowledge to satisy most of the above
on most days and that I can therefore feel well nourished if that is what I choose to be…..
June 9th, 2010 at 17:56
Lovely, Nick! You sound close to finding your dharma by virtue of what you hunger for and shall be well-fed indeed 🙂
June 9th, 2010 at 08:42
That was a powerful and very touching post to me. Mainly because I hunger for similar things in many regards. What I can add to myself is as well the courage I hunger for, to go out there and be the best that I can be, regardless if critics, book market or “the formula” agrees. And feel good about it. Staying true to my values, and feeling good about it. This is it for me. Have a great day. 🙂
June 9th, 2010 at 17:47
You go out there and get ’em, girl! Take the book world by force! “Staying true to my values” is such a core conviction of mine as well–I happily wave “Ta-ta!” to all the lemmings rushing over the cliff 🙂
June 9th, 2010 at 16:02
I’m pretty satisfied, so I don’t hunger for much. Maybe that’s wisdom, or just my age. But I do feel I have everything I want.
June 9th, 2010 at 17:43
What a wonderful state of being. I knew that feeling not long ago, which makes the new hunger that much more acute after the pendulum swung. I now hunger for regaining that contentment as it gradually swings back, and will keep envying you until I do 🙂 I would certainly say it is wisdom that satisfies you, as evidenced by all you share through your aphorisms–only someone at peace in life could provide such perspective.
June 10th, 2010 at 19:55
Oh I love this post! What a great prompt and what an amazing response you wrote for it 🙂 Just like you, I feel like I have this hunger for purpose, knowledge and inspiration! I’m always out there, or in my head, looking for the famous trio… Other than that, I always have this hunger for words… more, better, brilliant words!
But there is one thing, no matter how much I have I always feel hungry for it; stories… I can never read, hear, write enough stories! 😉
June 11th, 2010 at 16:09
Yes, I could go for a healthy serving of words right now. I am trying so hard to wrap up my novel–am just at the cusp!–and I find the story going quiet in my head. Grrr!! I wish I had the endless tap of ideas that you seem to. Hey, have you started revising your novel yet?