Desires Have a Purpose

As the season shifts, the firewood, which was neatly stacked in big piles at the end of last summer, has dwindled. On many days, I let the fire in the wood stove go out. This time of year the days lengthen, and the earth warms from the sun. 
 
 

Sometimes in that stack of firewood is a piece of wood that is too big to fit into the wood stove, but I can't always tell from looking at it. Every once in a while, I squat in front of the fire wearing leather gloves trying to shove the oversized piece of wood into the fire. The end that is in the stove catches fire but the whole thing won't go into the stove, so I curse and yell while trying to put the fire out. This is when I know that fire is dangerous. Like fire, our desires have a purpose. Desire warms us from the inside and gives direction and meaning to life. However, like fire, desire can be dangerous when left unchecked. 
 

You may have heard a misinterpretation of a Buddhist teaching that desire is the root of all suffering. Or you may have gotten messages from your family and the culture that you shouldn't want too much. ("don't get too big for your britches"!!!!!)



What are your deeper longings? Desire and longing shape our lives and yet we can look around us and see what happens to individuals and the earth itself when desire turns to greed or addiction.