Flow

Optimal Experience, it is what a painter feels when the colors on the canvas begin to set up a magnetic tension with each other, and a new thing, a living form, takes shape in front of the astonished creator.
(Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Flow)

The ego is your homework, your mission statement. It is your perception of reality, your perception of the boundary that separates you from others. To deny your ego is meaningless, you are who you think you are. You have to follow all the desires you have, yet, understanding that none of them can give you any lasting happiness is a big step forward on your spiritual path. All your desires are but substitute for feeling oneness, for being finally home.

The amazing contrast to having your desires fulfilled is to creatively express your desires which can give you happiness. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the flow concept and perhaps the notion of the painter being absorbed by her creation explains it best. Creating, being captured by the moment, is your only chance to let go of the ego temporarily. Surely you must have experienced this magic moment yourself when you did something that really absorbed you completely. Perhaps you are blessed with that ability to get lost in whatever you do. At this moment you are beyond your thoughts, you have actually transcended your desires while pursuing them. When you experience the flow you are connected with the Tao and the universe bends in accordance with your needs. The flow is the eternal dance with the Tao.

You cannot negate your desires, you have to follow them. They are your starting point and define you as a creator, as an artist. Yet, once you understand that the moment worth living for is the act of creation, the infinite moment in time when you are connected with the 'beyond', the time when you are flowing. You deserve to work, you deserve to express yourself creatively, so find the creative outlet that defines you as a creator and an artist!