--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps your hunger to belong is always…" description: "\"“Perhaps your hunger to belong is always active and intense because you belonged so totally before you came here. This hunger to belong is the echo and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/john-o-donohue-1919_belonging_perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always_3048073.jpg" --- # Perhaps your hunger to belong is always active and intense… ![“Perhaps your hunger to belong is always active and intense because you belonged so totally before you came here. This hunger to belong is the echo and reverberation of your invisible heritage. You are from somewhere else, where you were known, embraced and sheltered. This is also the secret root…” quote by John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/john-o-donohue-1919_belonging_perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always_3048073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/john-o-donohue-1919_belonging_perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always_3048073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/john-o-donohue-1919_belonging_perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always_3048073.jpg) > ““Perhaps your hunger to belong is always active and intense because you belonged so totally before you came here. This hunger to belong is the echo and reverberation of your invisible heritage. You are from somewhere else, where you were known, embraced and sheltered. This is also the secret root from which all longing grows. Something in you knows, perhaps remembers, that eternal belonging liberates longing into its surest and most potent creativity. This is why your longing is often wiser than your conventional sense of appropriateness, safety and truth... Your longing desires to take you towards the absolute realization of all the possibilities that sleep in the clay of your heart; it knows your eternal potential, and it will not rest until it is awakened.”” [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A deep, ancestral longing for belonging fuels creative potential and guides us toward our true possibilities. **In simple terms:** Longing for belonging sparks creativity. Key Takeaway Listen to your inner heritage. Themes belonging longing creativity identity Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic work - personal healing - career choices Key Concepts psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What does your “invisible heritage” tell you? - How can longing be channeled product? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on belonging may cause insecurity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) ## Related quotes > [The hunger to belong is not merely a desire to be attached to something. It is rather sensing that great transformation and discovery become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hunger-to-belong-is-not-merely-a-desire-to-be-attached-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The world seems so meaningless when I am engulfed in the bliss of love and you tracing the evolution of the restless soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ali/the-world-seems-so-meaningless-when-i-am-engulfed-in-the-bliss-of/) [Annie Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ali/) > [Each of us is alone in the world. It takes great courage to meet the full force of your aloneness. Â… When you face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/each-of-us-is-alone-in-the-world-it-takes-great-courage-to-meet-the/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [I arise to day... In the name of Silence / Womb of the Word, / In the name of Stillness / Home of Belonging,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/i-arise-to-day-in-the-name-of-silence-womb-of-the-word-in-the-name-of/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“It turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you'll stand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-turns-out-to-be-the-place-of-true-belonging-and-it-s-the-bravest/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Maybe the problem with the world is, that people are too quick to judge. And out of desperation, the loneliness creeps in like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/maybe-the-problem-with-the-world-is-that-people-are-too-quick-to/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/connection-gives-purpose-and-meaning-to-our-lives/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [If some student belonging to weaker section of society suffers distress, humanity says it must be addressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-jaitley/if-some-student-belonging-to-weaker-section-of-society-suffers/) [Arun Jaitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-jaitley/) > [“The reason “belonging” was so potent, so attractive, so much a part of the human yearning, was that it also meant safety, and loyalty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/the-reason-belonging-was-so-potent-so-attractive-so-much-a-part-of/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [I always think the best way of motivating yourself is to put yourself in a situation where you feel like you're belonging to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jackson/i-always-think-the-best-way-of-motivating-yourself-is-to-put-yourself/) [Colin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jackson/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) ## More by John O'Donohue > [I always was kind of on the edge of the church when I was fully in it , cos I was always asking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/i-always-was-kind-of-on-the-edge-of-the-church-when-i-was-fully-in-it/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/real-friendship-or-love-is-not-manufactured-or-achieved-by-an-act-of/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/it-is-lovely-to-meet-an-old-person-whose-face-is-deeply-lined-a-face/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“For Someone Awakening To The Trauma of His or Her Past: For everything under the sun there is a time. This is the season…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/for-someone-awakening-to-the-trauma-of-his-or-her-past-for-everything/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [It is a strange and wonderful fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/it-is-a-strange-and-wonderful-fact-to-be-here-walking-around-in-a/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“If we could be mindful of how short our time is, we might learn how precious each day is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our-time-is-we-might-learn-how/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [If you try to avoid or remove the awkward quality, it will pursue you. The only effective way to still its unease is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-you-try-to-avoid-or-remove-the-awkward-quality-it-will-pursue-you/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [A friend is a loved one who awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/a-friend-is-a-loved-one-who-awakens-your-life-in-order-to-free-the/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“There is a poetic import to the phrase ‘without a shadow of a doubt’: in all probability, there is no doubt without a shadow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/there-is-a-poetic-import-to-the-phrase-without-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-in/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [If you allow yourself to be the person you are then everything will come into rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-you-allow-yourself-to-be-the-person-you-are-then-everything-will/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Much of the stress and emptiness that haunt us can be traced back to our lack of attention to beauty. Internally, the mind becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/much-of-the-stress-and-emptiness-that-haunt-us-can-be-traced-back-to/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Consumerism is the worship of the god of quantity; advertising is its liturgy. Advertising is schooling in false longing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/consumerism-is-the-worship-of-the-god-of-quantity-advertising-is-its/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Inspiration is always a surprising visitor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/inspiration-is-always-a-surprising-visitor/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Thought is an amazing thing: it can be a mirror, a lens, a bridge, a wall, a window, a ladder or a house. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/thought-is-an-amazing-thing-it-can-be-a-mirror-a-lens-a-bridge-a-wall/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [ We \[humans\] are the only creatures who are in-between. We're of the earth, but don't belong to it, because we strain after the heavens;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/we-humans-are-the-only-creatures-who-are-in-between-we-re-of-the/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) [Explore all 198 John O'Donohue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) ## More Belonging quotes > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [I always think the best way of motivating yourself is to put yourself in a situation where you feel like you're belonging to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jackson/i-always-think-the-best-way-of-motivating-yourself-is-to-put-yourself/) [Colin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jackson/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“The reason “belonging” was so potent, so attractive, so much a part of the human yearning, was that it also meant safety, and loyalty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/the-reason-belonging-was-so-potent-so-attractive-so-much-a-part-of/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [If some student belonging to weaker section of society suffers distress, humanity says it must be addressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-jaitley/if-some-student-belonging-to-weaker-section-of-society-suffers/) [Arun Jaitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-jaitley/) > [Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/connection-gives-purpose-and-meaning-to-our-lives/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe the problem with the world is, that people are too quick to judge. And out of desperation, the loneliness creeps in like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/maybe-the-problem-with-the-world-is-that-people-are-too-quick-to/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“It turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you'll stand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-turns-out-to-be-the-place-of-true-belonging-and-it-s-the-bravest/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The hardest thing about being at Sony was not the travel; it was being divorced from the public and private life I had in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-stringer/the-hardest-thing-about-being-at-sony-was-not-the-travel-it-was-being/) [Howard Stringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-stringer/) > [Whenever you are examining someone else's belongings, you are bound to learn many interesting things about the person of which you were not previously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-you-are-examining-someone-else-s-belongings-you-are-bound-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She isn't anybody's,' Rook said darkly. 'Son. she's not yours, either," Sarah Fleet said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaida-jones/she-isn-t-anybody-s-rook-said-darkly-son-she-s-not-yours-either-sarah/) [Jaida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaida-jones/) > [We have become this very fear-based culture, especially post-9/11. Fear is the opposite of love, in my opinion. I think there would be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-have-become-this-very-fear-based-culture-especially-post-9-11-fear/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) [Browse all 876 Belonging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps your hunger to belong is always active and intense because you belonged so totally before you came here. This hunger to belong is the echo and reverberation of your invisible heritage. You are from somewhere else, where you were known, embraced and sheltered. This is also the secret root from which all longing grows. Something in you knows, perhaps remembers, that eternal belonging liberates longing into its surest and most potent creativity. This is why your longing is often wiser than your conventional sense of appropriateness, safety and truth... Your longing desires to take you towards the absolute realization of all the possibilities that sleep in the clay of your heart; it knows your eternal potential, and it will not rest until it is awakened.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John O'Donohue" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always-active-and-intense-because/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belonging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always-active-and-intense-because/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/john-o-donohue-1919_belonging_perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always_3048073.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/john-o-donohue-1919_belonging_perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always_3048073.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/john-o-donohue-1919_belonging_perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always_3048073.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps your hunger to belong is always active and intense because you belonged so totally before you came…” — John O'Donohue", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John O'Donohue", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Perhaps your hunger to belong is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always-active-and-intense-because/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/perhaps-your-hunger-to-belong-is-always-active-and-intense-because/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```