Stepping into Desire

I spent many years trying to slice out desire from my life, believing that if I did, I would end my suffering. After all, so much of my time was spent wanting things I didn't have and not wanting things that I did. I found Buddhism because I thought it would help me to remove my desires and allow me to FINALLY just be happy with what I had, forever.

Fortunately, I feel very differently about desire now. I have seen how it wasn't my desire that was the problem, but my obsession with the objects of desire, which were not in my control. I learned over time that desire itself is generative, sparkly, alive, and that leaning into that energy is a profoundly enlivening practice.

This poem captures the vibe perfectly:

Instinct by Kathryn Petruccelli​

My cat loves sweat, loves to tuck the leather patch

of her nose into the space under my arm, run

her rough-tab tongue along my neck, flesh glistening

after a brisk walk, craves nothing more than to taste

salt of exertion, sometimes even to take

a small bite. What it would be to step into our desires

as if they were owed us, our faces pressed up against

that which we cannot control. We'd sniff here and there

for the thing to stir our blood, and, on finding it, plunge forward

without thought for consequence - not in wanton greed -

but sure-footed along trajectories that ignite -

all that surrounds us aglow in the light of a contented sky.

What kind of world would it be?

Each of us moving to rhythms passed on by previous purveyors

of stardust, grown in the fat

of our marrow, ancient knowledge from the whole

of who we are that drives not towards money,

obligation, fear,

but toward joy and abandon,

instinct, impulse, wonder.

What kind of world indeed! What do you think about this poem? About the power of desire to ignite joy and wonder in our lives?

***If you are as excited as I am about this topic and want to dive deeply in a study-group/class setting, claim your spot in my new course, Aglow:A Five Week Journey From Restless Craving to Vibrant Aliveness. Because this is new material I am testing, the group will be kept intentionally small and the tuition is beta-pricing. Grab your spot before it fills.

Love,

Yael

PS: Are you a Jewish professional who could use a FREE retreat to renew, recharge, and restore your spirit? I am thrilled to be one of the faculty at Adamah's November Retreat Yourself in Maryland. Check it out!

PPS: Know anyone who might enjoy this newsletter? Please forward along, and thanks!

Yael Shy is the CEO and Founder of Sefira Wellness with over two decades of supporting others in uncovering their inherent worth and capacity for deep joy through mindfulness. She is the author of the award-winning book What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond (Parallax, 2017) and teaches at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. You can find her on Instagram at @yaelshy1.

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