‘Hunger’ – Florence and The Machine

Tom writes:

I have a friend whose view is that each and every one of us has an addiction. I am not sure if I entirely agree (which is not to say I am not myself willing to accept a tendency for certain addictive behaviours – I don’t own a smartwatch precisely because I worry I am already addicted enough to my phone and the last thing I need is to have it accessible on my wrist rather than my pocket), but I have certainly seen enough of life to understand where such a view might come from. I’m certainly open to the idea that, in the Western world at the very least, addiction is far bigger problem than many of us are willing to admit.

One person who seems willing to acknowledge that challenge is Florence Welch, whose song, “Hunger”, openly explores her own experiences of addiction, not just of alcohol and drugs, but of all kinds of ways that bring emotional and hormonal highs in ways that are ultimately more harmful than helpful. It is, to my mind, a powerful song that is open about Welch’s experiences in a way that is raw and yet also hopeful – the acknowledgement that the hunger exists, and that the past attempts to satisfy it have failed, is itself a notable step in the right direction.

While I may not be entirely sold, yet, on the idea we all have addictions, I do think we all have a hunger – a hunger to be loved, to be welcomed, to be valued, to be seen and heard and enabled to fulfil our potential. As someone who believes we are made in the image of God, I might call this a hunger for our divine selves. This is not something new to Christian thinking – Augustine of Hippo probably said it best, when he said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (Confessions) We all have a restless desire to make our way home, to know ourselves loved as those made in the image of the One who is Love.

Of course, we so often try at satisfy that hunger in the wrong places. We find ourselves wanting more and more: whether of things, or highs, or experiences, or adulation, or power, or… well, the list certainly goes on. I know when my own Black Dog is raging, when I feel swamped in the fog of depression or am wired with the adrenaline of anxiety, I think that what will satisfy it is food, or drink, or buying stuff, or the flashing lights of my phone. Yet what actually stills me and frees me, even if only temporarily, is space, and stillness, and focus on my breathing, and repeating the words of the Lord’s prayer.

Do we all have addictions? I am genuinely not sure. But I am convinced we are all hungry, hungry for love. Not the various kinds of human love (as good as they are and as reflective of the ultimate Love) but divine love, the love that made us and holds us and will go through death to give us life in all its fullness. We all have a hunger, and I pray that each and everyone us might find that hunger sated in the One who made us and in whom we will find eternal rest.

Find out more about Florence and The Machine at https://florenceandthemachine.net/