Searching. Striving. Working. Persevering. Pushing through.

Sometimes it’s necessary; if your car ends up in a snowbank there’s work to be done to free it.

But does life have to be lived this way as a matter of course? What compels us to do more, have more, be more, when in reality, at our essence, we are enough?

Hubby and I are in the midst of some big changes. We have the house on the market (yes, the one we just bought not two years ago), and are planning our move to the shore. Or, as they say down here in the south, the beach. It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember, and he’s taken it up as his dream too, with a strength and determination and love that amazes me.

In the process of this dream building, of course there is tons to do. Mop the floors, blow the leaves, get pre-approved for mortgage, vacate for the stream of showings, etc. While not dropping the ball on anything else in our our lives, family commitments, and the rest.

Why are we doing this? Because it matters … to me, and now to us. It is where we want to go next. And sometimes I get caught up in anxiety, and it’s hard to remember that state of wholeness and completeness I feel when I’m in the flow. The dichotomy between knowing I am complete as is, while still yearning for something else, embodies the ancient warning against desires. If we want, we suffer. Yet if we have no wants, there is no growth. There’s the rub, right?

It comes down to this. We are human creatures. Humans have desires. We want things. If we can navigate the wanting without forgetting that we are complete as is — whether we get this thing we want or don’t — then we have made a powerful discovery about our essential nature.

What do you want? Is it truly a need, something basic for your health or survival? Or is it a want, based on comparing your life to others and finding it lacking? Or is it a desire that comes from listening to your heart? Learning to tell the difference is my current path.