Desire

Aum Sairam

As children, most of us were probably cautioned not to eat snacks too close to mealtime. You'll ruin your appetite, our parents might have told us. And sometimes they were right. On other occasions, though, we found that just a little taste can actually make us want more particularly if that taste is a chocolate chip cookie, tortilla chip, or handful of salted nuts. The more we have, the more we crave.

A central paradox in our relationship with God is that while this experience satisfies a deep need, it simultaneously creates an insatiable desire for more. How can this be? Imagine that there is a God space in our lives waiting to be filled with the Divine. As it expands, so does its capacity; the larger it becomes, the greater the yearning for God. That's simplifying things, of course, but the principle remains nonetheless.

Hunger and thirst can be slaked temporarily, but sooner than we imagine, our body is sending us a signal that it's time to eat and drink again. In the spiritual life, our longing for God is the same. We may imagine that meeting God once will be enough to keep us satisfied for the rest of our lives, but our heart know better than that. What they tell us, when we are quiet enough to hear, is that we can never have enough.

Oh God, may my desire for you lead to an unquenchable thirst and a hunger too great to be satisfied.

Allah Malik