There comes a time in everyones life when his desires interfere with his well being.

For us humans its common to have desires, it’s common for them to rule our life and drive our behavior. But what happens when they interfere with ones well being, what happens when desires while being dissatisfied make us unproductive or take our joy in life.

In Buddhism they say one should minimize desires by shifting his attention into observing them rather than experiencing them. That way he disconnects from feeling the desires and rather connects to their reason by trying to understand them. That, they say is a way to lasting happiness and satisfaction as by understanding the nature of your desires you can eliminate them.

But I believe having desires and dissatisfaction is a part of being human, part of being alive. Desires have goten us where we are now, they has driven science, art, build cities and most importantly kept the human kind alive. Desires are a basic need for human existence.

But are they all that good? Should we always strive to have desires and be dissatisfied. I do not think that’s the right way either. In would suggest that one should be in control of his desires, and should use them as a tool to push himself towards the goals he/she has set in life.

Satisfaction is not something lasting. Often when satisfying a desire it goes through a cycle and then comes back. Once back you’ll find yourself back in the state of dissatisfaction unless you ignore it, or distract yourself with something else.

Desires get fortified when we are reminded of them, steam off when satisfied, and diminish when we ignore them.

Satisfying a desire gives us this nice feeling of accomplishment we feel whole, we want to live to enjoy this! Enjoy life and all its pleasures. Dissatisfaction gives us exactly the opposite.

But what if you have a desire that doesn’t get satisfied, and you get reminded of it frequently, often by yourself. Is a desire like that healthy to nourish? Or should one try to overcome it? Rationally one would only want to keep a desire with hopes it is going be satisfied sometime in the future. Why else would someone torment himself with dissatisfaction?

Maybe it is the weakness we all have to resist feelings. Maybe one is in denial believing his desire is going to be satisfied somehow. Maybe life is not all about feeling satisfied and whole.

Be mindful with your desires, they shape your life, they are a tool you can use and push yourself forward, but they can also become a burden that will drag you down. One thing I take for certain, if you have a desire you should act on it. Or it will keep you dissatisfied and empty.