(I had to post this one BEFORE Thanksgiving, while it’s still relevant…)

When you’re hungry, that’s just your body craving nourishment. You desire something outside of yourself. You feel a slight (or moderate or extreme) discomfort, which motivates you to get something to eat.

Fortunately, most of us are able to satisfy our hunger most of the time. But what if you couldn’t? What if you just ate and ate and ate and still felt a horrible gnawing in your gut? What if there were no way to satisfy your hunger?

Aside from being incredibly painful, that would be quite a cruel joke for the universe–and our bodies–to play on us. But I don’t believe that the universe plays cruel jokes. I don’t believe that we would experience a sensation such as hunger if there were no way of satisfying it. In fact, I believe that hunger plays a vital, positive role in our growth and survival. If we never felt hungry, we might forget to eat–and that would be even worse than feeling hungry!

I also believe that the same thing applies to other types of hungers: the hunger for a better life, the hunger to create, the hunger to connect, the hunger to learn, the hunger to find purpose, and the hunger for satisfaction in all areas. These hungers motivate us to move toward something beyond our current state. They motivate us to grow. They motivate us to seek nourishment. They motivate us to become more than what we currently are.

And, just as with food-hunger, I believe that we would not feel these yearnings if we weren’t able to fulfill them. The fact that we feel such a hunger is evidence that we can satisfy it. Again, I do not believe that the universe is playing a cruel joke on us. It would not taunt us with a desire that we had no possibility of fulfilling.

So when you feel hungry for food, take that as a helpful reminder from your body to take action, satisfy this yearning, and nourish yourself. And you can see other types of hunger the same way: Know that the yearning you feel–the desire for something more in your life–is a very positive sign. It means that you are able to fulfill your desire. In fact, it may be the all-important first step toward that fulfillment!

This doesn’t mean that you always WILL satisfy your hunger and fulfill every single desire, it just means that you CAN. You still have to take action–to do something to turn your hunger into satisfaction. But just becoming aware of your hunger–and seeing it in a positive light–means you’re well on your way!

Remember, if you couldn’t fulfill a hunger, you wouldn’t feel it. The fact that you DO feel hungry (for anything) is just a sign that it’s possible–that you have the power to bring it into your life and make it part of who you are. All you have to do is use that power!

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Aside from food, what are you hungry for? What do you yearn for? What do you long to bring into your life? What’s the first step you can take to satisfy this hunger?

P.S. If you’d like to help people who are literally hungry, you can do so just by visiting thehungersite.com and clicking their donation buttons — it’s completely free!

P.P.S. Jodi and I are pleased and honored to be featured in the newly released collection, Letting Go: 25 True Stories of Peace, Hope and Surrender, by Alex Blackwell. This book is a collection of 25 true stories of peace, hope and surrender that will remind you that letting go isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. Click here to visit the Amazon page and learn more. 🙂