Why do I become a slave to my desires?

Our desires are one of the greatest motivating factors in our lives. Often our needs are confused with our desires. In reality, there is a great discrepancy between the two of them. 

One of the compelling forces that drives us to seek gratification originates from  our five senses. We are constantly seeking to satisfy them. This all consuming obsession with our senses enslaves us. The means to keep this obsession alive is ambition, the fuel for which is greed. The driving force for our greed is our insecurity.

We have been conditioned to be insecure. The adage ‘save for a rainy day’, has become the mantra by which we live. The burning question to be asked is, “where has this conditioning come from?”. 
We have the gross misconception that we are masters of all we see, including ourselves. This attitude generates a ‘need ‘ to be in control of our environment and the factors that could impact our future.
This illusion of control and the ‘need ‘ to exercise this control puts us in competition with others and most of all, in competition with ourselves. We are constantly comparing ourselves with others. Our parents and teachers encourage this competitive spirit in the mistaken assumption that it will be an incentive for us to achieve greater success. We set goals for ourselves, thus putting us in direct competition with ourselves. As a result of this, we get caught in the vectored web of ‘time versus achievement’. This leaves us prey to the ‘spider‘ called STRESS. We seek to allay this stress with even greater ‘trophies‘. Sadly, this lends to even more anxiety.

We believe that success is measured by the grades secured in an exam or by the income earned. True success is measured by the positive impact we have on others and our environment. To cease being a slave to our desires, we need to do a reality check on our ‘needs‘. What do we really need to exist? This would mean our basic subsistence. What do we need to live comfortably? This would pertain to our needs. What do we need to live luxuriously? This is where our desires come to be our masters. This is where we become slaves to gratification, ambition, greed and insecurity.

The sooner we get off the treadmill of our desires the better for us. For that is what it is... never ending, going nowhere , whilst causing great stress. Poverty exists only in the mind!!