“Desire reveals our possibilities for development and our potentials, but also simply what remains to be done, what we are missing so that our life seems complete and meaningful to us.” Verena Kast, psychotherapist, lecturer, author Looking back at my own life, I notice that different phases have always been marked by desires; some I have been able to fulfill, others have changed over time, new desires have developed, and still others have been dormant in my deepest heart for a long time and from time to time express themselves in different ways. In my late youth, I longed to leave the place where I had grown up and which I had associated with very difficult circumstances. I wanted to have the chance to live in a new place and develop myself free from prejudices. Later, the desire to travel and discover the world came to the fore. There were times when a desire for freedom was paramount, others when I longed for stability. Looking at my desires in the different phases of my life, I recognize the issues that were dominant at different times, what I had to develop, what at times I was missing. But above all, my desires show me what really is important to me, how I have developed over the years or in a nutshell: what defines me as a person. Our desires always point to the future. In our imagination, what we long for is something that we need in order to make our life complete. Sometimes our desire for something becomes so strong that we even believe that after its fulfillment we will remain happy for the rest of our lives. However, new desires arise again and again, even if some of our greatest desires are fulfilled. There are always aspects in our lives that we can develop, desires and goals that we pursue and that help us remain curious about life. So perhaps the sense in our desires lies not so much in the constant attempt to fulfill them, but much more in discovering new facets of ourselves time and again and getting to know ourselves better during the course of our lives. If you want to find out more about your own desires, ask yourself the following questions: · What desires did you have at different stages of your life? · How have your desires changed? · What do you yearn for now? · What do your desires say about yourself? Let me know about your thoughts: angela.smith@biografisches-coaching.com
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