OK. Maybe men don't stare out windows or wait by the door for their wives to return home from war, but surely they are feeling something. Surely, men want more out of life than just a cheeseburger, beer, and tattoo. No?

According to Google (the closest thing we have to tracking the collective unconscious), apparently not.

Are men incapable of longing? Not at all. It's just gotten a bit suppressed, gone underground to the place where even Google's algorithms cannot find it. The reason?

I'm guessing it has something to do with the male concept of survival. After all... wars, hunting, and politics aren't all that conducive to inspired questings of the heart.

To put it bluntly, most men consider longing a girly thing. A sign of weakness. A minor holiday card invented by Hallmark. Something you express only because it's expected of you.

I suggest we put an end to this madness once and for all.

Longing is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength.

And before I go on, let me make one thing abundantly clear: when I refer to "longing," I am not referring to a poetic kind of "desire" or a beatific "wanting." Not at all. I am referring to the innate human aspiration -- beyond gender -- for something timeless, pure, and unconditional.

Poets write about it, but it has nothing to do with words. Musicians compose about it, but it has nothing to do with notes. Artists paint about it, but it has nothing to do with colors and shapes.

Feeling. That's what it's all about. Deep feeling. The recognition that what we're looking for is also looking for us. What lovers feel after they must take their leave. The artist's pause, inspired by a sudden shift of light.

The ahhh moment.

And so, dear readers of this blog, as the self-appointed, President (and Chief Hun) of the Longing Liberation Front for Muscle Bound Males, allow me to (Chest Bump! High Five! Shot of Red Eye!) refer you to someone who truly understands the game of life, a fine gentleman who knows that the ones who win are the ones who feel -- the ones who long for something more than what they see with their own two eyes.

May I introduce you to Prem Rawat?