Did the title of today’s post grab your attention?
This was the headline for a review of Theodore Dreiser’s, The Financier and it captured my attention. According to the WSJ (5-5-2012), desire was Mr. Dreiser’s lifelong fascination. Dreiser wove the theme of what people want, what keeps them wanting and how their social situations shape what they want throughout his body of work.
Today Dreiser might pay to consult a “wantologist.” An article in NY Times Sunday Review entitled, The Outsourced Life, showed how far the market has penetrated our private lives by promoting certified wantologists; professionals trained to help us know what we want.
In both of these articles, writers used the words want and desire interchangeably. The first definition in the New Oxford American Dictionary for want is “have a desire to possess.” First definition for desire in the same dictionary is “a strong feeling of wanting to have something.”
Stephen Schettini* says that being in the present moment is a matter of paying attention. What happens when we pay attention to the words desire and want? Let’s pay attention to which words open more possibilities for us in our interior landscape. What happens when you think about what you want? Is that easier than using the word desire?
The Desert Fathers and Mothers** remind us that one cannot expect desires to be achieved immediately. In a similar fashion, it takes time to learn how to focus our attention. If our first efforts at meeting our desires and focusing our attention are not successful, it is prudent not to give up but to keep practicing. Learning a new skill takes time and effort.
My desire to be in the present moment and my want to be in the present moment continues. I’m still thinking about the different connotations each word has for me.
Let me know what you think. I desire and want to know.
**In the Heart of the Desert (2008) by John Chryssavgis.
Thanks for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall