Desire

Is desire the source of all unhappiness or is it the key to happiness?

What would life be without desire? Would you be happy and content with everything? That would be amazing. We'd just be walking around in a daze. But eventually we'd get hungry, or sleepy, or horny.

One way to define desire is "the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state". I desire something does that mean I'm unhappy? Can we be happy with our desire? Can't desire be a possible source of self actualization and self fulfillment? Maybe being unsatisfied doesn't necessarily mean unhappy. If there wasn't hardship, you wouldn't be happy, right? You can't have a rainbow without a thunderstorm. Being unsatisfied is not the same as being dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction includes a judgement and emotion. In my opinion, unsatisfied means you're motivated to make a change.

I think people sometimes tie their hopes to being entirely/completely/universally happy. I think it's possible to be completely satisfied and lacking desire in one realm without being universally happy. For example, I could be unhappy or unsatisfied with the decrease in diversity and population of neotropical migrant birds and at the same time I could be enjoying a sweet cup of coffee. Maybe that's just being hypocritical, because if I really cared about the birds I wouldn't be drinking coffee. Ok, here's another shot at it- imagine I blew off an afternoon workout and decided to got have a donut with Laura. On one hand I am not helping myself become a better hill climber and really am not satisfying my desire to be a great biker. On the other hand, I'm totally satisfied with the glaze on the donut and the time with Laura. It depends on your focus.

Desire, unsatisfaction, and unhappiness are just as much a part of life as happiness and satisfaction. I guess the key here is awareness. If we can be aware of when being unsatisfied turns into being unhappy, we'll be more likely to detach ourselves from this unhealthy desire.
So I think desire is as much a source of happiness as it is a source of despair.

As Martin Sexton says, "I'm so grateful for every heartbreak and everything that came my way that I didn't want to happen at that time- I thank God Almighty for getting me out of my own way... "