Unsatisfiable Desires
Modern civilization has given us abundance. It allows us to easily satisfy many of our desires. When we are hungry, it is easy to get food. When we feel cold, we can turn up the thermostat, or put on a sweater. When we feel hot, we can turn on the air conditioning, or get a cold drink from the refrigerator. Few of us do hard labor for a living. We don’t come home exhausted after a long day’s work in the fields. We don’t have to worry about predators. Interpersonal violence is rare. We have homes that are safe, comfortable and convenient. Most of our basic desires are satisfied. Yet, we are not happy. Abundance has made it easy to satisfy many of our desires, but we are not satisfied. If we can easily satisfy a desire, such as hunger, then it fades into the background. We still feel hunger, but it isn’t a major driver of our thoughts and actions, because it is easily satisfied. When we feel hunger, we simply eat and it is gone. We don’t experience the depths of hunger that our a