Look through the self and just be!

 Desires are what they are. We can run with them. We can suppress them in the name of spirituality. We can try to make them more refined or more presentable. Our desires are us, hard as it is to accept. Desires are our life-force. If we ignore them, it will be at our own peril. When it comes to desires, I always think of a beach ball in a swimming pool. The purpose is to play with the ball and have a little fun. Yet, when we try to push it under water, it will bounce back with a splash!

 

I may live in a small house and may look longingly at the neighbor’s mansion. I may have a crummy job and look for a promotion or working in a different field altogether. We all have life choices to make, and spirituality advises us to not seek happiness in attachments, possessions, power or egotistic behavior. The teachers advise us to choose love over greed, to have professional purpose, to have meaningful relationships with others and go out more and smell the roses. You may call that approach spirituality 1.0– the desire to live a more meaningful life, the quest towards a better self.

 

Try it and see what happens. There is only one problem with this approach. The self that works towards bettering this energy system that we identify with does not exist! Let that sink in for a moment. How can I first claim that desires are us, and then follow it up with the statement that the entire personality structure needs improving. The conflict lies within. Watch yourself as you get better. Be mindful of the activities when the “you” tries to become more ethical, more efficient, just “better” overall. You will always encounter inner conflicts until the moment when you let go. 

 

Look through the self and just be!