Yesterday's meditation was on self-sacrifice and the realization was that self-sacrifice is a fruit, not a seed. So, I picked up today with looking for seeds. A few websites I had looked at, particularly an atheist's, had led me to the idea of desire. The gentlemen writer had actually subscribed to an encompassing theory of human behavior called desirism. He seemed pretty into it; only a human could desire desirism.
My first Google search was "Increasing desire," which returned expected results of cultivating sexual desire in men and women, and building the desire to succeed. I switched to increasing value and such similar and got back stuff mostly on increasing home values and equity. Funny that the first things we think about with desire and value miss the mark. We first think superficially, and often act superficially, until that doesn't work and realize the need to dig a little deeper.
While in pursuit, my search terms switched to using the term "pursuit." I guess the thought process was that if you desire something, you pursue it. So, I entered a rather clumsy search term, "increasing the value of pursuit." I got a much more satisfying list of link options with that, quite varied but did not really look for the unifying theme. My eyes instead focused on "the pursuit of happiness," a site dedicated to the work of Martin Seligman, a name I've been seeing a lot lately since I've become curious about Positive Psychology.
All of this introduction to reveal my discovery. To paraphrase Seligman's site, but only mildly, "life is only truly satisfying if discover value within ourselves and then nourish those strengths for service." What a juicy a nugget, and profound food for thought. Better yet, food for action. But thought first. The beauty of Seligman's work is that it unites ideals of individualism and collectivism. People don't have to neglect one to support the other. But as satisfying as this unity of ideals is, the profound potential for me is that I may be able to unify theories of humanism with God's ideals. The thought makes me shudder to some extent because the of past teachings that have exclaimed the utter difference of God's ways and the ways of man. But I know that there is harmony between the two. After all, it is a man's covenant (Galations 3:5).
Tomorrow I search for finding your strengths, and thus value within yourself. But I wonder if all of the value has to be in strength; perhaps a good start to the journey. It is interesting that a search deep within can lead to connection far and wide beyond yourself. Such a design has to be divine. I make that statement without much qualification but for the purpose arousing curiosity at the order of things. How can journeying inside an atom give you profound insight into the shape of the universe, and how can a search inside a man give you profound insight into the shape of existence?
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