An examined life will invariably be a life lived with desire. I mean true desire, your heart’s desire. A lot of folks are frightened by desire, why? Because desire can mean disappointment. If you desire something, if you want something, especially if the desire involves realizing a dream, if you don’t get it you’ll be disappointed. People are freaked out by disappointment, some are devastated by it.
Folks are also afraid of desire because it means they have to do something, like go after something and going after something might also mean change and possibly more disappointment. See what I mean? Desire is fraught with all kinds of inconvenience and unpleasantness.
People will go to devastating lengths to avoid feeling desire. They’ll engage in all kinds of drama and distraction by thinking that desire means wanting material things. Others will self-medicate with alcohol and/or drugs, or succumb to depression, develop chronic illnesses that drive them to an early grave. Folks will do all of this just so they won’t feel desire, just to avoid doing the work required to change or try something new, to live an authentic and meaningful life.
There is no way around it. An examined life will invariably be a life filled with desire. What surprises me is how few people are willing to live this courageously.
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