Great Desire

Desire...the deep, abiding, insatiable, Capital-D Desire...not the fleeting desires which distract us from deep Desire...Desire! It soon becomes obvious to the reflective soul that no person or thing, no quantity of money or success or achievement or power...not even the greatest love affair or family...can finally satisfy the longing of the human heart! What is the meaning, purpose, destiny of this profound, unquenchable longing? This is The Big Question! And there are a limited number of answers. Let us consider four: Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist and Judaeo-Christian. Buddhism considers desire and suffering as illusory so it presents a path to enlightenment whereby the observant is relieved of both desire and pain into a state of serenity and unity. To an outsider, however, this is finally a negative, indeed nihilistic view of desire as ultimately futile. Hindu faith articulates the classic cyclical view, including reincarnation, in which life is an endless circle that returns always without a final purpose, resolution or end. The immortal soul is destined to return endlessly to earthly life like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. Again, there is a futility to Deep Desire! Lastly, atheism in its classic forms (Freud, Marx, Nietzche) denies any final, ultimate meaning to life and counsels us to find limited, but ultimately despairing, consolation in small-letter loves and truths. (A word about agnosticism as not-knowing: this is a skeptical and often honest and humble posture that is finally unstable and is moving, if slowly, into Trust or Suspicion! It is no final resting place! ) By contrast with these nihilisms, Christian faith (and its relatives Judaism and Islam) is indeed Good News:  Desire is destined for super-abounding fulfillment beyond our wildest expectations! St. Augustine said it best: "Our hearts are restless until we rest in you O Lord!" We are created by an infinite Lover who desires (but does not need) us and infuses us with a desire for infinite Love...and we are destined to fulfill this desire...beyond our wildest imaginings! And so, our path is not to suppress or deny or flee desire, but to inflame it infinitely! Our task is not even to control Desire or desires in the way of moralism or stoicism! Quite the opposite, we are destined to enhance, deepen and strengthen Desire, and even our desires, into fire! And so, we need not fear frustration or futility or sadness or desire! We need only to intensify Deep Desire...and all the smaller desires that feed it: longing for love, meaning, achievement, safety, serenity, agency, intimacy, truth and beauty! And so our prayer can be:  "Inflame me with love for you O Lord; let this fire consume what is not of you; and purify all my loves!"