Want
Believing to be a separate person and the fear this causes results in our intention being to regain the sense of peace and equanimity lost through the attainment of some apparent objective experience. However, even if the desire is fulfilled, no sooner do we attain it than we almost immediately feel some level of insecurity again.
Though we may persist in this strategy for a while, it may become apparent, after a while, that the happiness we seek is not being attained through the fulfilment of desire. At this point, we may realise that we have to turn our attention away from the world and into our inner experience to find happiness. This doesn’t mean we should suppress or avoid desire; however, the motive force of desiring happiness is a natural, energetic expression of our true nature. Desire in itself is not something that can and should be discarded. The highest teachings of thousands of years of spiritual texts, such as the Lotus Sutra of Buddhism, emphasise that the motive force of desire is part of the necessary fuel for us to find our true nature. As that text states, “Earthly desires are enlightenment, and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.”
As we consciously recognise and abide by our impersonal true nature, then naturally, the motive force of desire comes to express our intrinsic happiness. At this point, we find that the universe naturally supports such impersonal desire quite serendipitously. However, coming from the fear of seeking extrinsic security in appearances, we may often have found our desires thwarted. The appearance of the universe is a mirror and will reflect our consciousness recognition of true nature and the sense of wholeness and safety we feel or not, as the case may be. It’s neutral one way or the other.
The task, therefore, is to rest consciously as true nature in trust of our intrinsic happiness, being receptive to any desires we have that express it. The superficial outcome of the desire is not essential as our happiness is already intrinsically felt, and falling into attachment to the outcome will take us back to a sense of separation. However, this does not mean we should not take any expression of impersonal desire seriously. After all, our true nature is motivated to bring about this or that in human form depending on our particular circumstances as expressions of its truth, not personal ambition.
The point is that if such desires are not fulfilled, we are still happy because we are not dependent on their fulfilment. In contrast, if we are motivated by fear and seek extrinsic happiness, we will feel disappointed if our desires are not fulfilled.
Love
Freyja