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Words of Wisdom 101 on the depths of desire, meaningful action, part eight.
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Your desire is about what you want.
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Your desire or your will is also called your spirit or your heart
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in the most wise of all literature.
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It's that part of you that deeply yearns for meaning, love, and hope.
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A core difference from other animals is the depth that
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humans desire the human will.
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It goes far beyond merely a will to survive and meet basic needs.
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It is what fuels art, poetry, and the ambition to do something
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significant with your life, such as sacrificing yourself for another.
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It's part of the divine spark within us.
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You can influence what you want.
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Choosing wise heroes cannot be overemphasized.
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The more shallow your desire, the shorter your time horizon.
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The more shallow your desire, the more you are focused on quickly changing your mood.
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Shallow desire is about fulfilling a short-term satiation of your feelings.
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Binging on food, sex, or numbing yourself with distracting behaviors.
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The problem is that shallow desire does not fulfill.
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It leaves you hollow.
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The more deeply you desire, the longer your time horizon.
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The longer your time horizon, the more discipline is needed.
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We all naturally want something for nothing, but the deepest desires
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require the most significant sacrifices for the longest periods of time.
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Marriage, parenting, running a business or nonprofit, for example.
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All of these are easy to start and exceedingly difficult to flourish in.
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If you want be able to say yes to the deepest desires, you
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must have the self-control to say no to your shallow desires.
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Moving from good to great is largely about your strength to say no.
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In the long run, this is best done by growing deep desires.
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So feeding your desire with a healthy fire is critical, and working to
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regularly strengthen your discipline will help you get where you want to go.
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So again, desire is about what you want.
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Ambition is about how widely you want to spread your desire.
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Ambition is seeking to influence others with your desire.
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The more ambition you have
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the more discipline you need.
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The further you go in accomplishing your ambitions,
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the more temptations you'll face.
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Discipline is what you will sacrifice to get what you want.
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Fortitude is how determined you are to get there.
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And flourishing is an awakening to deep desire.
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Quotes.
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"Goodness draws all things to itself and is the great attractive power which unites
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things that are sundered — unto the good.
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All things are turned —and after the good, all things do yearn.
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This good, which is also the All Beautiful is the goal of all things and their
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Beloved, for all things do and must desire the Beautiful and the Good."
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Margaret Smith quoting Pseudo-Dionysius, the Areopagite in
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the book, the Way of the Mystics.
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"Desire doesn't spread like information.
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It spreads like energy.
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It passes from person to person, like the energy between people
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at a concert or political rally.
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This energy can lead to a cycle of positive desire in which healthy
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desires gain momentum and lead to other healthy desires, uniting people in
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positive ways, or it can become a cycle of negative desire in which mimetic
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rivalries lead to conflict and discord."
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Luke Burgess, in his book Wanting.
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Questions.
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What do you most deeply desire?
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To what degree does the focus of your desire rest on the future of acquiring
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things, achieving accomplishments, or recognition from others?
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How deeply do you desire good for those who have hurt you?
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Use these questions as journal prompts and prayers for this week.
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Endnote.
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Seek to deepen your desire every day.
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The quality of your life depends on it.
