I have just discovered
that the way to my happiness
is my willingness to want.
No, not the shallow wanting
of some of this,
or more of that,
or another pair of sassy shoes.
But the Deep Wanting
that reverberates within my soul.
Buying sassy shoes instead of doing the Good Work
only focuses
on the wrong kinds of soles!
It takes silence
and calm
to hear my Wants,
and a longing to know
what will truly fill
the hollowness I feel.
I have been standing on the edge of the Well of Wanting for so long,
peering into the depths,
not knowing
what lies in the darkness,
afraid of the silence and the calm.
But today, I take a deep breath
and climb down.
My Wanting is deep,
but, the Well
is not.
The darkness,
instead of assaulting me as expected,
is soothing
and serene.
I feel safe.
As the darkness
is dispelled by my presence,
I look around for my soul’s desire.
But I find only
piles of this and that,
trinkets collected
in attempts to fill the holes in my soul,
sassy shoes purchased thinking I could click those heels together
and be transported to happiness.
I stand in the well,
calmness wrapped around me,
and I feel Divine Love entering me,
a soothing balm.
It is from this place
that I begin.
It is from this place
I finally understand
what I truly want.
And at once
I feel connected to the earth,
to god, and,
at last,
to myself.
But there are two steps y’all.
I must now speak aloud
that which I desire.
The Tibetans, those ancient souls,
can silently write their prayers on flags
which the winds carry up to the Gods.
But us younger folk,
we must give voice
to that which we desire.
Hiding our wants in silence
only thwarts the true nature of love,
turning the soul’s desires into anger or silliness,
or trinkets or shoes.
So after climbing out of the Well of Wanting,
knowing for the first time
the true treasure of my Soul’s Desire,
I stand
with my feet planted on the ground
declare in a loud voice,
giving my soul’s desires wings
to the Holy One’s ears.
“I want.”
“I want
to love and have my love returned.”
“I want
to do good to myself
and to others.”
“I want
to make a difference in this world.”
“I want,
I want,
I want.”
Released, my holy desires fly toward fulfillment
and my soul is comforted.
Now don’t sassy shoes sound silly?
