One essential theme (I hesitate to call it a problem) that my mind has been orbiting around is the seemingly opposing ideas of striving for non-attachment versus living in a cycling interplay of desire and fulfillment. I think a facile interpretation of a lot of philosophical or wisdom traditions is that non-attachment is the ultimate goal, which I do not believe to be truth - instead I find myself drawn more to the idea that desire for the truth, the better, a striving for more realisation (even if it is the realisation that all is ebb and flow) is inherent to a human life well lived, and the absence of desire is not desirable. a part of our journey is to develop in such a way that our desires or appetites are oriented towards what is ideal or divine, and I believe that an internal resonance exists that can show us intuitively whether this is true. In addition to the intellectual appetite of the soul I also found that there is a physical appetite (which is also of the soul in a way) that is beyond mere natural appetite, such as moving our body in certain ways, a refined athleticism that develops in parallel with our refinement of the soul.
Thanks for this article, Luke. I first learned of Girard's Generative mimetic scapegoating from Gil Bailie nearly 30 years ago now ( even brought Gil out to our local church community to speak). So as I see you develop the concepts of Thin and Thick desire, I'm thinking you're moving this very important ball forward. I hope to finish 'Wanting' later today, thanks also for that! Mike
I wonder if sometimes we’re just stuck in a semantic quagmire. What if what Manson means when he says “losing it” is the same thing you mean when you say “resting in desire”.
Maybe he is seeking still some truth in crypto and elden ring. Truth about himself and what he enjoys.
Funnily enough, I think my example of resting in an object of desire might be taking part in volunteer work. The job hunt has led to a lot of experience with being ghosted, it's discouraging to ask to do things for people and not even have your existence acknowledged. All of that work to fill out their forms and I'm not even worth a rejection letter, it doesn't do good things for me mentally.
But, the place I'm volunteering at not only acknowledged the effort put into applying, they accepted me. Now I'm contributing to something that isn't just an extension of my writing and it gets me out of the house to interact with people to face to face. Those are all things I desired. Thinking about it this way makes me feel better, it makes me appreciate that I have gotten the recognition I've felt starved of for so long.
I feel this state of joy that comes from, as you say, "resting in the object of its desire" can only last through a continuous effort towards gratitude. It's when we remind ourselves of what we've experienced, where are we in life and all the things we have, that we're able to taste that joy again once it has fled. Loved this piece a lot Luke, thank you so much :) Aina
This is a wonderful article!
One essential theme (I hesitate to call it a problem) that my mind has been orbiting around is the seemingly opposing ideas of striving for non-attachment versus living in a cycling interplay of desire and fulfillment. I think a facile interpretation of a lot of philosophical or wisdom traditions is that non-attachment is the ultimate goal, which I do not believe to be truth - instead I find myself drawn more to the idea that desire for the truth, the better, a striving for more realisation (even if it is the realisation that all is ebb and flow) is inherent to a human life well lived, and the absence of desire is not desirable. a part of our journey is to develop in such a way that our desires or appetites are oriented towards what is ideal or divine, and I believe that an internal resonance exists that can show us intuitively whether this is true. In addition to the intellectual appetite of the soul I also found that there is a physical appetite (which is also of the soul in a way) that is beyond mere natural appetite, such as moving our body in certain ways, a refined athleticism that develops in parallel with our refinement of the soul.
Thanks for this article, Luke. I first learned of Girard's Generative mimetic scapegoating from Gil Bailie nearly 30 years ago now ( even brought Gil out to our local church community to speak). So as I see you develop the concepts of Thin and Thick desire, I'm thinking you're moving this very important ball forward. I hope to finish 'Wanting' later today, thanks also for that! Mike
I wonder if sometimes we’re just stuck in a semantic quagmire. What if what Manson means when he says “losing it” is the same thing you mean when you say “resting in desire”.
Maybe he is seeking still some truth in crypto and elden ring. Truth about himself and what he enjoys.
Funnily enough, I think my example of resting in an object of desire might be taking part in volunteer work. The job hunt has led to a lot of experience with being ghosted, it's discouraging to ask to do things for people and not even have your existence acknowledged. All of that work to fill out their forms and I'm not even worth a rejection letter, it doesn't do good things for me mentally.
But, the place I'm volunteering at not only acknowledged the effort put into applying, they accepted me. Now I'm contributing to something that isn't just an extension of my writing and it gets me out of the house to interact with people to face to face. Those are all things I desired. Thinking about it this way makes me feel better, it makes me appreciate that I have gotten the recognition I've felt starved of for so long.
I feel this state of joy that comes from, as you say, "resting in the object of its desire" can only last through a continuous effort towards gratitude. It's when we remind ourselves of what we've experienced, where are we in life and all the things we have, that we're able to taste that joy again once it has fled. Loved this piece a lot Luke, thank you so much :) Aina