My Thirsts

I have been thirsting all my life and I do not want my thirst to go away.

I thirst for beauty and would want to see it in everything around me:
the first blooms of spring, the singing of the birds, the setting and rising of the sun,
the rhythmic waves and the pounding surf, the sweet smell of the flowers,
hands clasped together in reassurances, a loving embraces,
a tear of joy and appreciation, a peal of laughter in the happy moment,
in the human form, in the happy turn of events, in the unfolding of the universe.

In my younger days, I have always thirsted for knowledge and information.
I was always curious and wanted to know the what, the how and the why of things.
I read a lot. I asked a lot of questions and I tried many different things.
Even today, I am still curious, still read a lot, still asking many questions
Still trying many different things, trying to find the wisdom to understand
the meaning and the underlying truth of everything happening and coming into my life.

I always had an insatiable thirst for human companionship.
I love the company of other people.
I loved it when Ima would take me along to visit her friends and our family.
I must have gotten this mirthful joy in the company of others from her.
I thirst for deep friendships and I want to keep all my friends forever.
In loud and boisterous laughter, or in simple and reassuring presence,
I hold on to the friendships and loves in my life.

There are many times I also thirst for silence and solitude.
From someone who loves to flit like a butterfly among my loved ones and friends,
I can easily withdraw into a cocoon of solitude and silence
To relish the joys of my life, to feel the pains that make me grow,
To learn the lessons that transform me, to be alone with my God.
In the silence, I get to know myself better, to count and appreciate my blessings,
and to drink from the well whose water does not quench my thirst
but rather make me thirst for those things that complete my life
and bring me to its fullness.

My prayer has always been that I will not thirst for wealth, power or fame
In their various forms and manifestations.
I will not thirst for self-gratifications or selfish indulgence.
I will not thirst for my good and well-being alone.
I will not thirst for my selfish pleasures or self-seeking accomplishments.
Instead, I will thirst only for those things that come from
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
John 4:13-15