Most of the lives we lead are in a constant state of addition, we are continually looking to add to ourselves. It seems that part of the human condition is to never be satisfied, we always want more, we are the eternal consumer.
Many get onto their soapboxes and condemn the capitalists for their collection of material goods, their continual quest for more money, more power, more of this and that and all the negatives they can associate.
But, our inherent consumptive desire is not bound to the tangible, something that those quick to condemn are rarely willing to admit in themselves. Even those proclaiming the evil of capitalism are in the collection business. They aren't up there shouting to the sky, they want to be heard, they want an audience, they want attention. It is just another item for collection.
Some want more knowledge and spend their time consuming information, others want more excitement and seek entertainment in various forms and others, want more love and look for it wherever they can. And when we get what we want, it feels good and we want to get a bit more, another taste. The pathway of any addiction.
There is no end to our hunger, it is the way we have been designed and what keeps us advancing and evolving. We use it to both solve and create problems and it is the basis of the biggest driver of humanity, curiosity. It is our inquiring and questioning of the darkness that keeps the torches lit. To stop it would be to halt nature in its tracks and let the fires burn out.
The difficulty isn't in the process, the problem is in what we want and what we are willing to do to get it. Some will want but not do and stay in a state of continual unsatisfied longing, while some others will enact the most horrific cruelties in an attempt to quench an unquenchable thirst. Either way, there is no end, the future is unlimited and the hunger for it always present.
What drives one to want this and another to want that though is interesting I think. Why do some desire expensive cars while others want a library full of books? Is one really better than the other or are both the same with different perspectives?
I find desires quite fascinating as the satisfaction of them is a driving force behind much of what we do. We want to achieve our goals but that in itself is rarely enough as we impose other rules to count ourselves successful. Often, our goals have to be loftier than those around us and accomplishment becomes a competitive process to get the best, the fastest or the highest over others. Success is a sport.
This human process is very vulnerable to manipulation and can be influenced into wanting all kinds of things whether they are good for us, others, our planet or, harmful to all three. Our desires are open to suggestion and parents, peers, society, culture, religion, media, government and celebrity all can push and pull us to or away from targets.
Once we have set our sights on an object of desire, rarely do we consider the implications in what we must do to satisfy them, or the consequences of satisfaction. We become somewhat blind and ignorant but once attained, we quickly lose the feeling of satisfaction and want more. As said, this is a forever process.
Another forever process can look at this from a different perspective. In my opinion, this is a much more important one but unlike the one of addition which runs largely on autopilot, the process of subtraction requires active awareness and observation.
The reason it is so important is that it can observe the process of addition an understand how it operates and witness its potential for misdirection and harm. Secondly and more significantly, once it realises that some of the addition is not optimal, it will get to work removing it piece by piece.
This weeding of the garden of desire can remove a whole range of harmful or useless clutter and provide the space to grow something entirely different. What is chosen is of course up to the individual as once the system is understood, it becomes very hard to be manipulated by external sources. This means that one can truly start to see what is actually desirable, if anything.
Perhaps it will be identical to what is added now but I find this highly doubtful. Maybe, nothing will be desired at all and it is in that space one can see and do much more without feeling the need to see and do much more. Rather than the continual want for the future, the forever now is filled with a whole range of experiences that were missed while the mind and body focused on what they wanted.
Often, there are competing desires within us that means that the satisfaction of one, leaves the other a beggar or the failure to satisfy one, allows another to grow. This competition is likely from a lack of harmony and understanding and competing influencing sources. Remove the conflict and there is smooth coordination of thought and action.
What happens when we have conflicts removed, when we have uninstalled harmful and useless desires and we are now clear on what we really do want? I don't know, I am nowhere near that point but, I am slowly chipping away at what is not me to see what is left. This process will go on forever.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]