Wanting What You Don’t Have

To want something you do not have and take for granted what you do have is a common character flaw.

Wanting something you do not have is desire. Desire is life. Look around you and much of what you see is the result of someone’s desire. And there is a conflict. As a spiritual seeker you probably want to live in the NOW, but desire takes you from the now into a fantasy world of a non-existent future. Sacrificing today, for a tomorrow that may never come, can easily become a life pattern.

Desires are disruptive because if they are not fulfilled, you will be frustrated. And oh so often, when your desires are fulfilled, you will come to realize there is no satisfaction in your attainment.

In “The Open Door,” Osho says, “Fulfillment never comes through desire; fulfillment is the fragrance of a non-desiring mind. When you feel fulfilled there will be no birth again because there will be no need: you don’t have any hankering. When you feel fulfilled you are finished. Then your training on this planet is complete, then your training in this body is complete; you need not have another body.”

When you take for granted what you do have, there is no “attitude of gratitude.”

From a karmic perspective, spiritual seekers ideally feel grateful to everyone they interact with in an important way, because everyone is your teacher. You incarnated to balance your karma and fulfill your dharma. To accomplish this, while still in spirit, you set up unions and circumstances to resolve old conflicts, learn needed lessons, and provide you with opportunities to be compassionate.

Many years ago, while conducting a seminars with author Richard Bach, we were sitting in a hotel room talking about his soon to be released book, “The Bridge Across Forever.” Richard had sent me the bound proofs in advance of publication. I was shocked at how a manager had ripped him off, resulting in the loss of everything he owned-even the copyrights on his books.

“I guess I owed him karma,” Richard said. No animosity. No blame. He understood that the manager had allowed him to balance an old debt-something to be grateful for.

We are often ungrateful to those closest to us, much less those who abandoned us, or hurt us, or ripped us off, or let us down. Do not wait until you return to spirit before realizing you have many people to be grateful to, including those who would least appear to be the recipients of your good will.

Peace and Light,
Dick Sutphen