by Christyl Rivers

Created on: August 02, 2011   Last Updated: August 03, 2011

People want what they cannot have because the very idea that it is something we do not possess, or can ever be, intrigues us. 

If we are short, we wonder what it means to be tall, if we are unable to sing, dance, or create great art, we wonder what it would mean to have those talents. Children wish to be older, older people wish to be children.

Rich and famous people wonder if it may not be easier to live in obscurity and with less high pressure work. Although no one seems to want impoverishment, or disease, we do still marvel at those who cope, or even thrive with it. Even if we do not want some aspects of their lives, we may wish for their determination, courage, drive, or the admiration they receive.

We are programmed by our biology toward the novel and the new. We are also programmed with great curiosity. And, in addition to all these reasons for always wanting something else, we are programmed, socially, to never be satisfied with what we have.

Part of this is due to people needing to make a living. If we want to sell our talents and wares, we must convince others they need them.

People must be convinced that they are either lacking in some characteristic, or conversely, we are told because we have, are, do, certain other things, we should own a big house, drive a sports car, or by season tickets to shows, games and more.

These several reasons for always wanting to have, be, or do more, can drive us to bigger and better things, but they also have a tendency to take control of our lives.

For example, wanting to live in a certain neighborhood, in a particular house, can mean selling your life to many unforeseen obligations, like out of control debt, or having to keep up appearances that we are capable and confident, even when we feel completely swamped and overwhelmed.

We are even driven philosophically toward a certain sense of belonging to a group for secure identity of who we are; a patriotism, or religion or an ideology can at times, insidiously take over a person’s life.

What is most forgotten when we are only attuned to never being satisfied with what we presently have is the word “being” itself. It conveys that we are a dynamic interaction, not a set and solid block of something that fits in a cookie cutter mold.

We are in actuality, not things, but beings. We are being the matter, water, breathe and flow between living systems in the world, and we are each connected to every other living system, and even

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